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SINKING  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA.' 


BLUE  JACKETS  OF  *6l 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  NAVY  IN  THE  WAR  OF  SECESSION 


BY 


WILLIS    J.    ABBOT 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PRINCIPALLY  BY  W.  C.  JACKSON 


NEW   YORK 
DODD,    MEAD,    AND     COMPANY 

1887 


COPYRIGHT,  1886, 
BY  DODD,  MEAD,  AND  COMPANY. 


BURR   PRINTING  HOUSE,   NEW   YORK. 


4 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

THE  OPENING  OF  THE  CONFLICT. — THE  NAVIES  OF  THE  CONTESTANTS.  —  Dix's  FAMOUS 

DESPATCH.  —  THE  RIVER-GUNBOATS i 

CHAPTER    II. 

FORT  SUMTER  BOMBARDED.  —  ATTEMPT  OF  THE  "STAR  OF  THE  WEST"  TO  RE-ENFORCE 
ANDERSON.  —  THE  NAVAL  EXPEDITION  TO  FORT  SUMTER. — THE  RESCUE  OF  THE 
FRIGATE  "CONSTITUTION."  —  BURNING  THE  NORFOLK  NAVY- YARD  10 

CHAPTER    III. 

DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  CONFEDERATES  IN  GETTING  A  NAVY.  —  EXPLOIT  OF  THE  "  FRENCH 

LADY."  —  NAVAL  SKIRMISHING  ON  THE  POTOMAC.  — THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  "SUMTER,"      25 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  POTOMAC  FLOTILLA.  —  CAPTURE  OF  ALEXANDRIA.  —  ACTIONS  AT  MATTHIAS  POINT. 
—  BOMBARDMENT  OF  THE  HATTERAS  FORTS 37 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE  "  TRENT  "  AFFAIR.  —  OPERATIONS  IN  ALBEMARLE  AND  PAMLICO  SOUNDS.  —  DESTRUC- 
TION OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  FLEET 53 

111 


509405 


iv  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

PAGE 

REDUCTION  OF  NEWBERN. —  EXPLOITS  OF  LIEUT.  GUSHING.  —  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  RAM 
"ALBEMARLE" 70 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THE  BLOCKADE-RUNNERS.  —  NASSAU  AND  WILMINGTON.  —  WORK  OF  THE  CRUISERS.       .      90 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
DUPONT'S  EXPEDITION  TO  HILTON  HEAD  AND  PORT  ROYAL. — THE  FIERY  CIRCLE  .       .114 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  FIRST  IRON-CLAD  VESSELS  IN  HISTORY.  —  THE  "MERRIMAC"  SINKS  THE  "CUMBER- 
LAND," AND  DESTROYS  THE  "CONGRESS."  —  DUEL  BETWEEN  THE  "MONITOR"  AND 

"MERRIMAC" '  129 

CHAPTER    X. 

THE  NAVY  IN  THE  INLAND  WATERS.  —  THE  MISSISSIPPI  SQUADRON.  —  SWEEPING  THE 
TENNESSEE  RIVER 155 

CHAPTER    XI. 

FAMOUS    CONFEDERATE    PRIVATEERS,  —  THE    "  ALABAMA,"    THE    "  SHENANDOAH,"    THE 

"NASHVILLE" .       .       .    180 

CHAPTER    XII. 

WORK  OF  THE  GULF  SQUADRON.  —  THE  FIGHT  AT  THE  PASSES  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. — 
DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  SCHOONER  "JUDAH."  —  THE  BLOCKADE  OF  GALVESTON,  AND 
CAPTURE  OF  THE  "  HARRIET  LANE  " 206 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  —  FARRAGUT'S   FLEET  PASSES  FORT  ST.  PHILIP  AND 

FORT  JACKSON 219 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

PAGE 

ALONG  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  —  FORTS  JACKSON  AND  ST.  PHILIP  SURRENDER. — THE  BATTLE 
AT  ST.  CHARLES.  —  THE  RAM  "ARKANSAS."  —  BOMBARDMENT  AND  CAPTURE  OF  PORT 
HUDSON 243 

CHAPTER    XV. 

ON  TO  VlCKSBURG.  —  BOMBARDMENT  OF  THE   CONFEDERATE   STRONGHOLD.  —  PORTER'S 

CRUISE  IN  THE  FORESTS 254 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

VlCKSBURG  SURRENDERS,  AND  THE  MISSISSIPPI  IS  OPENED.  —  NAVAL  EVENTS  ALONG  THE 

GULF  COAST 279 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

OPERATIONS  ABOUT  CHARLESTON.  —  THE  BOMBARDMENT,  THE  SIEGE,  AND  THE  CAPTURE,    293 

CHAPTER    XVIIL 
THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY 303 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
THE  FALL  OF  FORT  FISHER.  —  THE  NAVY  ENDS  ITS  WORK 313 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

SINKING  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA  "........       Frontispiece 

THE  "  HARTFORD,"  FARRAGUT'S  FLAGSHIP  .  .  '        .  .  .  .  .  .2 

DEPARTURE  OF  A  NAVAL  EXPEDITION  FROM  PORT  ROYAL    .....  4 

FORT  MOULTRIE  .  ...  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .n 

ANDERSON'S  COMMAND  OCCUPYING  FORT  SUMTER      .  .  .  .  .  .12 

MAJOR  ROBERT  ANDERSON     ..........    14 

FORT  SUMTER  UNDER  FIRE         .........          16 

DESTRUCTION  OF  NORFOLK  NAVY- YARD     ........    22 

THE  "  FRENCH  LADY  "..........          27 

BLOCKADING  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI       .  .  .  .  .  .  .31 

FLAG  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY        .........          38 

NAVAL  PATROL  ON  THE  POTOMAC     .  .......    44 

THE  FLEET  OFF  HATTERAS          .  . '         .  .  .  .  .  .  .48 

ATTACK  ON  THE  HATTERAS  FORTS  .........    50 

SHORES  OF  ALBEMARLE  SOUND  .........          57 

CONTRABANDS  ESCAPING  TO  FLEET  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -63 

FLAG  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -73 

DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  "  ALBEMARLE  "  .  .  .  .  .  .  -87 

NASSAU  :  THE  HAUNT  OF  BLOCKADE-RUNNERS  .......          94 

COTTON  SHIPS  AT  NASSAU      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .96 

BLOCKADE-RUNNER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOUNDS      ...  .  .        101 

PURSUING  A  BLOCKADE-RUNNER       .....  ...  105 

FORTRESS  MONROE.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  •         .  .118 

DuPoNT's  EXPEDITION  OFF  CAPE  HATTERAS          ....*..  120 


vin  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


THE  OPENING  GUN           ..........  124 

THE  FIGHT  AT  HILTON  HEAD          .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .126 

"MERRIMAC"  AND  "CUMBERLAND"      ........  141 

BATTLE  OF  THE  "MONITOR"  AND  "MERRIMAC"  .          .          .          .          .          .  .147 

HANDLING  A  GUN  .           ..          .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  150 

A  RIVER  GUNBOAT      .'          .           .           .           .  •                   .           .           .           .  .  158 

MORTAR-BOATS  AT  ISLAND  No.  IO         .   .        .           .                      .           .           .  171 

LOOTING  A  PRIZE         ...........  185 

RESCUE  OF  CAPT.  SEMMES           .........  195 

THE  END  OF  A  PRIVATEER     .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .198 

THE  "NASHVILLE"  BURNING  A  PRIZE   ........  200 

"  SHENANDOAH  "  BURNING  WHALERS                     .          .-         .          .          .          f  .  204 

FORT  PENSACOLA    .                      .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  209 

DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  SCHOONER  "JUDAH"                     .           .          .          .          .  .211 

CAPTURE  OF  THE  "  HARRIET  LANE  "      .           .                                 .  216 

LEVEE  AT  NEW  ORLEANS  BEFORE  THE  WAR         .          .          .          .          .          .  .221 

FIRE-RAFT  AT  FORTS  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI        .......  227 

BREAKING  THE  CHAIN            .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .231 

RAM  "TENNESSEE"  AT  MOBILE  BAY     .  .  .  .  ...  .233 

NEW  ORLEANS  ON  APPROACH  OF  FLEET     ........  239 

THE  "ARKANSAS"  UNDER  FIRE  .......                      .  250 

PORTER'S  FLOTILLA  ON  THE  RED  RIVER     .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .  264 

DUMMY  GUNBOAT  PASSING  FORTS  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI         .          .                     .  272 

PASSING  THE  VICKSBURG  BATTERIES            .           .           .           .           .           .           .-,  .277 

MANNING  THE  YARDS       .           ...           .           .           ..           .           .  283 

BAILEY'S  DAM  ON  THE  RED  RIVER  .                      .           .                      .           .           .  .  288 

CUTTING  OUT  A  BLOCKADE-RUNNER   -  .                      ......  296 

CHARLESTON  BOMBARDED       .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .  299 

WAR-SHIPS  OFF  CHARLESTON  HARBOR.         •  .           .                      .           .           .           .  301 


FIGHT  AT  MOBILE  BAY 


310 


CHARGE  OF  SAILORS  AT  FORT  FISHER  .......        316 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


CHAPTER   I. 


THE    OPENING    OF    THE    CONFLICT.  —  THE    NAVIES    OF    THE    CONTESTANTS.  —  DIX'S    FAMOUS 
DESPATCH.  — THE    RIVER   GUNBOATS. 

HE  story  of  the  naval  operations  of  the  civil  war  is  a  record  of 
wonderful  energy  and  inventive  skill  in  improvising  and  building 
war-vessels,  vigilance  and  courage  in  handling  them,  and  des- 
perate bravery  and  dash  displayed  by  officers  and  seamen  in  the 
great  engagements  in  which  vessels  of  either  side  took  part.  Yet  of  the 
immense  body  of  literature  dealing  with  the  war,  the  greater  part  is  given 
to  telling  the  story  of  the  great  armies  of  the  North  and  South.  The 
details  of  the  great  land  battles  are  familiar  to  many  who  have  but  a  vague 
idea  of  the  service  done  by  the  "blue  jackets"  of  the  North,  and  the  daring 
deeds  performed  by  the  navies  of  both  sides. 

When  the  first  mutterings  of  the  storm  of  war  began  to  be  heard,  the 
United  States  Government  had  at  its  disposal  sixty-nine  vessels-of-war,  of 
which  twenty-seven  were  laid  up  for  repairs,  or,  sailors  would  say,  "  out  of 
commission."  Of  the  forty-two  vessels  in  commission,  twenty-six  were 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


absent  on  missions  to  the  East  Indies,  the  African  coast,  and  other  distant 
quarters  of  the  globe.  Long  months  must  elapse  before  the  most  hasty 
orders  could  reach  them.  Many  were  sailing-vessels,  and  must  consume 
many  months  of  precious  time  before  they  could  reach  the  shores  of  the 


THE  "HARTFORD,"  FARRAGUT'S  FLAGSHIP. 

United  States.  Indeed,  though  on  the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln 
on  March  4,  1861,  all  these  vessels  were  immediately  recalled,  not  one 
arrived  before  the  middle  of  June,  and  many  were  delayed  until  late  in  the 
following  winter.  Of  the  vessels  at  home,  many  were  old-fashioned  sailing- 
frigates  ;  beautiful  with  their  towering  masts  and  clouds  of  snowy  canvas, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


but  almost  useless  in  that  day  when  steam  had  become  known  as  the  only 
means  of  propelling  vessels-of-war. 

In  officers  and  men  the  navy  was  almost  as  deficient  as  in  vessels.  A 
long  peace  had  filled  the  lists  of  officers  with  old  men  past  that  age  in 
which  may  be  expected  the  alertness  and  energy  that  must  be  possessed 
by  Jack  afloat.  The  lower  grades  were  filled  by  boyish  officers  from  the 
Naval  Academy,  who  had  never  seen  a  gun  fired  in  anger.  The  service 
was  becoming  rusty  from  long  idleness. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  navy  of  the  United  States  when  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  made  President.  Four  years  later  the  navy  of  the  United 
States  consisted  of  six  hundred  and  seventy-one  vessels.  No  nation  of 
the  world  had  such  a  naval  power.  The  stern  lessons  of  the  great  war  had 
taught  shipbuilders  that  wooden  ships  were  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  little 
"Monitor"  had  by  one  afternoon's  battle  proved  to  all  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe  that  their  massive  ships  were  useless.  And  all  this  had  been  done 
by  a  people  grappling  in  deadly  strife  with  an  enemy  in  their  very  dwellings. 
The  world's  history  contains  no  more  wonderful  story  of  energy  and  in- 
vention. 

When  President  Lincoln  began  his  term  of  office,  he  appointed  Gideon 
Welles  of  Connecticut  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  South  Carolina  had  seceded 
from  the  Union.  Mississippi,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  and  Louisiana 
had  followed  South  Carolina.  Anderson,  with  a  handful  of  United  States 
troops,  was  holding  Fort  Sumter,  expecting  every  minute  to  see  the  puff  of 
smoke  from  the  distant  casement  of  Fort  Moultrie,  and  hear  the  shriek 
of  the  shell  that  should  announce  the  opening  of  the  attack.  At  Wash- 
ington, politicians  were  intriguing.  The  loyalty  of  no  man  could  be  re- 
garded as  certain.  Officers  of  the  army  and  navy  were  daily  resigning, 
and  hastening  to  put  themselves  under  the  command  of  their  various 
States.  In  the  South  all  was  activity.  In  the  North  the  popular  desire 
for  a  compromise  hampered  the  authorities  so  that  no  decided  stand 
against  the  spread  of  the  rebellion  could  be  made.  The  new  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  found  himself  face  to  face  with  the  certainty  of  a  long  and 
bloody  war,  yet  had  under  his  command  a  navy  hardly  adequate  for  times 


DEPARTURE  OF  A  NAVAL  EXPEDITION  FROM  PORT  ROYAL. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


of  peace.  To  add  to  his  perplexity,  many  of  the  oldest  and  most  skilful 
officers  in  the  navy  resigned,  saying  that  their  duty  to  their  States  was 
greater  than  to  the  United  States  as  a  whole.  A  few  revenue  officers  even 
went  so  far  as  to  deliver  to  the  State  authorities  the  vessels  of  which  they 
were  in  command.  One  commander,  a  Georgian,  bringing  his  ship  back 
from  foreign  waters,  hesitated  long  whether  to  take  it  to  the  navy-yard  at 
New  York,  or  to  deliver  it  to  the  Southern  leaders.  He  finally  decided  to 
obey  orders,  and  the  ship  remained  with  the  United  States.  Some  days 
afterward  the  commander  told  his  lieutenant  of  his  hesitation.  "  We  all  saw 
it,"  said  the  younger  officer ;  "  and  had  you  turned  the  ship's  prow  towards 
Charleston,  you  would  have  been  instantly  put  in  irons." 

The  surrender  of  another  naval  vessel  called  forth  that  famous  despatch 
from  John  A.  Dix  that  will  ever  be  linked  with  his  name.  The  United 
States  revenue  cutter  "  McClelland  "  was  lying  at  New  Orleans,  under  the 
command  of  Capt.  Breshwood.  The  revenue  service  is  distinct  from 
the  regular  navy,  and  is  under  the  general  command  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  John  A.  Dix,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  suspected  that 
Capt.  Breshwood  was  about  to  surrender  his  vessel  to  the  Confederates, 
and  sent  an  agent  to  order  him  to  take  the  vessel  to  New  York.  Bresh- 
wood refused,  and  instantly  Dix  sent  the  despatch  :  "  Tell  Lieut.  Caldwell 
to  arrest  Capt.  Breshwood,  assume  command  of  the  cutter,  and  obey  the 
order  through  you.  If  Capt.  Breshwood,  after  arrest,  undertakes  to  inter- 
fere with  the  command  of  the  cutter,  tell  Lieut.  Caldwell  to  consider  him 
as  a  mutineer,  and  treat  him  accordingly.  If  any  man  attempts  to  haul 
down  the  American  flag,  shoot  him  on  the  spot."  This  despatch  was  inter- 
cepted by  the  Confederates,  and  the  cutter  was  surrendered.  But  Dix's 
determined  words  reverberated  through  the  North,  and  thrilled  all  hearts 
with  the  hope  that  the  time  for  delay  was  past,  and  that  the  growing 
rebellion  would  be  put  down  with  a  firm  hand. 

So  at  the  opening  of  the  war  we  find  the  North  with  a  navy  consisting 
of  but  a  few  old-fashioned  ships,  few  sailors,  officers  everywhere  resigning, 
and  a  general  feeling  of  distrust  of  brother  officers  in  all  grades. 

The  condition  of  the  South  as  regards  the  navy  was  even  worse.     The 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


Southern  States  had  never  done  any  great  amount  of  ship-building.  The 
people  were  almost  all  engaged  in  farming.  The  crops  of  cotton  and  sugar 
that  they  raised  were  shipped  in  vessels  built  in  Maine,  and  manned  by 
sailors  from  the  sea-faring  villages  of  New  England.  At  the  time  the  war 
broke  out,  there  was  hardly  a  ship-yard  in  the  confines  of  the  Confederacy 
A  few  vessels  were  gained  by  the  treachery  of  United  States  officers.  The 
capture  of  the  Norfolk  navy-yard  brought  them  large  quantities  of  naval 
stores,  and  by  wonderful  activity  a  few  vessels  were  built  for  service  on 
inland  sounds  and  rivers.  But  at  no  time  could  the  Confederacy  have 
been  said  to  have  a  navy ;  and,  keeping  this  fact  in  view,  the  record  the 
Confederates  made  with  two  or  three  vessels  is  most  wonderful.  In  war- 
vessels  for  service  on  that  wonderful  net-work  of  rivers  that  make  up  the 
water-ways  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  the  South  was  not  so  deficient  as 
in  ships  of  the  sea-going  class.  The  long,  crescent-shaped  levee  at  New 
Orleans  is  lined  throughout  certain  seasons  of  the  year  by  towering  river- 
steamers  which  ply  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  and  connecting  streams, 
taking  from  the  plantations  huge  loads  of  cotton,  sugar,  and  rice,  and 
carrying  to  the  planters  those  supplies  which  can  only  be  furnished  by  the 
markets  of  a  great  city.  The  appearance  of  one  of  these  towering  river 
transports  as  she  comes  sailing  down  the  turbid  stream  of  the  great  Father 
of  Waters,  laden  to  the  water's  edge  with  brown  bales  of  cotton,  and 
emitting  from  her  lofty,  red  crowned  smoke-stacks  dense  clouds  of  pitchy 
black  smoke,  is  most  wonderful.  Unlike  ocean-steamers,  the  river-steamer 
carries  her  load  upon  her  deck.  Built  to  penetrate  far  towards  the  head- 
waters of  rivers  and  bayous  that  in  summer  become  mere  shallow  ditches, 
these  steamers  have  a  very  light  draught.  Many  of  them,  whose  tiers  of 
white  cabins  tower  sixty  or  seventy  feet  into  the  air,  have  but  three  feet 
of  hull  beneath  the  river's  surface.  The  first  deck,  when  the  vessel  is 
but  lightly  loaded,  stands  perhaps  two  feet  out  of  water.  Above  this, 
carried  on  rows  of  £osts  twenty  feet  high,  comes  the  first  cabin.  All 
between  is  open  to  the  air  on  either  side  ;  so  that,  as  one  of  the  huge 
river-monsters  passes  at  night,  the  watcher  on  the  bank  can  see  the 
stalwart,  black,  half-naked  bodies  of  the  negro  stokers,  bending  before  the 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


glowing  furnace  doors,  and  throwing  in  the  soft  coal,  that  issues  in  clouds 
of  smoke  from  the  towering  chimneys  seventy  feet  above.  The  lights  in 
three  rows  of  cabin  windows  glow ;  and  the  unceasing  beat  of  the  paddle- 
wheels  mingles  with  the  monotonous  puff  of  the  steam  from  the  escape- 
pipes,  and  the  occasional  bursts  of  music  from  the  open  cabin  doors.  One 
who  for  the  first  time  looks  on  one  of  these  leviathans  of  the  Mississippi, 
pursuing  its  stately  course  at  night,  does  not  wonder  at  the  frightened 
negro,  who,  seeing  for  the  first  time  a  night-steamboat,  rushed  madly  from 
the  river's  bank,  crying  that  the  angel  Gabriel  had  come  to  blow  the  last 
trump. 

When  these  boats  have  taken  on  their  full  load  of  cotton,  they  present 
a  very  different  appearance.  Then  all  the  open  space  beneath  the  cabins 
is  filled  by  a  mass  of  cotton-bales.  The  hull  is  so  sunken  in  the  water 
that  the  lowest  tier  of  cotton-bales  is  lapped  by  the  little  waves  that 
ruffle  the  surface  of  the  river.  The  stokers  and  furnaces  are  hid  from  view, 
and  the  cabins  appear  to  be  floating  on  one  huge  cotton  bale.  Generally 
a  great  wooden  stern-wheel  propels  this  strange  craft,  adding  to  the  gro- 
tesqueness  of  the  sight. 

It  may  readily  be  understood,  that  vessels  of  this  class,  in  which  strength 
was  subordinated  to  lightness,  and  economy  to  gingerbread  decoration, 
seemed  to  be  but  poor  materials  for  vessels-of-war.  The  tremendous  recoil 
of  a  rifled  cannon  fired  from  one  of  those  airy  decks,  meant  to  stand  no 
ruder  shock  than  the  vibration  caused  by  dancing  pleasure-parties,  would 
shake  the  whole  frail  structure  to  pieces.  Yet  the  ingenuity  born  of 
necessity,  and  the  energy  awakened  by  the  immediate  prospect  of  war,  led 
the  Confederate  engineers  to  convert  some  of  these  pleasure-palaces  into 
the  most  terrible  engines  of  destruction  chronicled  in  the  annals  of  war. 
The  first  step  was  to  sweep  off  all  the  towering  superstructure  of  decks, 
cabins,  and  saloons  ;  tear  away  all  the  fanciful  mouldings,  the  decorated 
staterooms,  and  carved  and  gilded  stairways.  This  left  a  long,  shallow  hull, 
with  a  powerful  engine  in  the  centre,  and  great  paddle-wheels  towering  on 
either  side  ;  the  whole  so  light  that  the  soldiers  of  Grant's  army,  when 
they  first  saw  one,  stoutly  averred  that  "those  boats  could  run  on  a 


8  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 

heavy  dew."  The  hull  was  then  thinly  plated  with  iron,  and  the  prow 
lengthened,  and  made  massive,  until  it  formed  the  terrible  "ram,"  fallen 
into  disuse  since  the  days  of  the  Greek  galleys,  to  be  taken  up  again  by 
naval  architects  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Then  on  the  deck  was  built  a 
pent-house  of  oak  and  iron,  with  sloping  sides  just  high  enough  to  cover 
the  engine.  The  two  towering  smoke-stacks,  the  pride  of  the  old  river- 
steamers,  were  cut  down  to  squat  pipes  protruding  a  foot  or  two  above  the 
strange  structure.  In  the  sides  were  embrasures,  from  which,  when  open, 
peered  the  iron  muzzles  of  the  dogs  of  war,  ready  to  show  their  teeth  and 
spit  fire  and  iron  at  the  enemy.  This  was  the  most  powerful  type  of  the 
river  gunboat,  and  with  them  the  Confederacy  was  fairly  well  provided; 
though  it  was  not  long  before  the  war  department  of  the  United  States 
was  well  supplied  with  similar  ships.  It  was  these  iron-clad  gunboats  that 
used  to  rouse  the  anger  of  the  doughty  Admiral  Farragut,  who  persisted  in 
declaring  them  cowardly  engines  of  destruction,  and  predicted  that  as  they 
came  into  use,  the  race  of  brave  fighting  jack-tars  would  disappear.  On  one 
occasion  the  admiral  was  ploughing  his  way  up  the  Mississippi  above  New 
Orleans,  in  one  of  Commodore  Bailey's  river  iron-clads.  The  batteries  of 
the  enemy  on  either  hand  were  pounding  away  at  the  ascending  ships, 
hurling  huge  bolts  of  iron  against  their  mailed  sides,  with  a  thunder  that 
was  deafening,  and  a  shock  that  made  the  stricken  ships  reel.  The  admiral 
stood  in  the  gun-room  of  one  of  the  iron-clads,  watching  the  men  working 
the  guns,  in  an  atmosphere  reeking  with  the  smoke  of  the  powder.  A  look 
of  manifest  disapproval  was  on  his  face.  Suddenly  an  unusually  well- 
directed  shot  struck  a  weak  point  in  the  armor,  and,  bursting  through,  killed 
two  men  near  the  admiral's  position.  He  looked  for  a  moment  on  the 
ghastly  spectacle,  then  turning  to  an  officer  said,  "  You  may  stay  here  in 
your  iron-clad  room  if  you  wish  :  as  for  me,  I  feel  safer  on  deck."  And  on 
deck  he  went,  and  stayed  there  while  the  fleet  passed  through  the  hail 
of  shot  and  shell. 

The  scarcity  of  iron  in  the  Southern  States  prevented  the  naval  authori- 
ties of  the  newly  organized  Confederacy  from  equipping  a  very  large  fleet 
of  iron-clads.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  the  Tredegar  Iron  Works  at 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


Richmond  was  the  only  place  in  the  South  where  iron  plates  of  a  size 
suitable  for  plating  vessels  could  be  rolled.  The  demand  was  of  course 
far  in  excess  of  the  facilities  of  the  factory,  and  many  were  the  make-shifts 
that  ship-builders  were  forced  to.  Some  vessels  were  plated  only  about  the 
centre,  so  as  to  protect  the  boiler  and  engines.  Others  bore  such  a  thin 
coat  of  iron  that  they  were  derisively  called  "  tin-clads "  by  the  sailors, 
who  insisted  that  a  Yankee  can-opener  was  all  that  was  necessary  to  rip 
the  vessel  up.  Sometimes,  when  even  a  little  iron  was  unattainable,  bales 
of  cotton  were  piled  up  around  the  sides,  like  breastworks,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  men  and  engines.  The  vessel  which  captured  the  United  States 
ship  "  Harriet  Lane,"  at  Galveston,  was  thus  provided  ;  and  the  defence 
proved  very  valuable.  One  great  objection  to  the  cotton-bale  bulwarks  was 
the  very  inflammable  nature  of  the  material,  since  a  red-hot  shot  from  the 
enemy,  or  a  bit  of  blazing  wadding  from  a  gun,  would  set  it  smouldering 
with  a  dense  black  smoke  that  drove  the  men  from  their  guns  until  the 
bales  could  be  thrown  overboard  ;  thus  extinguishing  the  fire,  but  exposing 
the  men  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  war  of  secession  was  the 
manner  in  which  private  citizens  hastened  to  contribute  towards  the  public 
defence.  This  was  so  no  less  in  naval  than  in  military  circles.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  gift  ever  made  by  a  citizen  to  his  Government  was  the  gift  by 
"  Commodore  "  Vanderbilt  to  the  United  States  of  a  magnificently  equipped 
ship-of-war,  which  was  named  "The  Vanderbilt"  in  honor  of  her  donor, 
and  did  efficient  service  in  maintaining  the  blockade  on  the  Atlantic  coast. 
Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett,  the  present  owner  of  the  "New-York  Herald," 
put  his  yacht  at  the  service  of  the  Government,  and  was  himself  commis- 
sioned a  lieutenant  in  the  revenue  service. 


CHAPTER   II. 


FORT  SUMTER  BOMBARDED.  —  ATTEMPT  OF  THE  "STAR  OF  THE  WEST"  TO  RE-ENFORCE 
ANDERSON.  — THE  NAVAL  EXPEDITION  TO  FORT  SUMTER.  — THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  FRIGATE 
"CONSTITUTION."  — BURNING  THE  NORFOLK  NAVY- YARD. 

HE  first  purely  warlike  event  of  the  civil  war  was  the  bombard- 
ment and  capture  of  Fort  Sumter  in  Charleston  Harbor,  by  the 
troops  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  At  the  time  when  it  first 
became  evident  that  civil  war  was  inevitable,  Fort  Sumter  was 
vacant.  The  only  United  States  troops  stationed  at  Charleston  were  two 
companies  of  artillery  under  Major  Robert  Anderson.  The  fortifications 
of  Charleston  Harbor  consisted  of  Fort  Moultrie  on  the  main  land  (in  which 
Anderson's  command  was  stationed),  Fort  Pinckney,  and  Fort  Sumter 
standing  massive  and  alone  in  the  centre  of  the  harbor.  Anderson,  with 
his  handful  of  troops  in  the  most  vulnerable  of  the  three  forts,  saw  day  by 
day  the  secession  sentiment  growing  stronger.  Almost  daily  some  of  the 
privileges  of  the  soldiery  were  cut  off ;  such  as  the  right  of  passing  through 
the  city,  and  the  right  to  buy  supplies  in  the  public  markets.  Daily  could 
be  heard  the  drum  and  the  tread  of  the  newly  organized  bodies  of  State 
soldiers.  Anderson  saw  that  his  position  was  a  weak  one,  but  could  get 
no  orders  from  headquarters.  Finally  he  decided  to  assume  the  responsi- 
bility of  evacuating  Fort  Moultrie  and  occupying  Fort  Sumter.  To-day  it 
hardly  seems  as  though  he  could  have  thought  of  doing  otherwise,  but 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


1 1 


at  that  time  it  was  a  grave  responsibility  for  a  man  to  assume.  The  whole 
voice  of  the  North  was  for  compromise,  and  it  was  his  part  to  commit  the 
first  overt  act  of  war.  But  he  was  nobly  upheld  in  his  decision  by  his 
Northern  brethren.  Having  decided,  he  lost  no  time  in  carrying  his  plan 


FORT  MOULTRIE. 

into  effect.  His  little  corps  of  troops  was  drawn  up  at  midnight  on  the 
parade,  and  for  the  first  time  informed  of  the  contemplated  movement. 
The  guns  of  Fort  Moultrie  were  hurriedly  knocked  from  their  trunnions, 
and  spiked ;  the  gun-carriages  were  piled  in  great  heaps,  and  fired ;  and 
every  thing  that  might  in  any  way  be  used  against  the  United  States 
Government  was  destroyed.  Then  the  work  of  evacuation  was  begun. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  13 


A  small  fleet  of  row-boats  carried  the  troops  to  the  entrance  of  the  great, 
sullen  fort,  standing  alone  in  the  middle  of  the  harbor,  and  made  frequent 
trips  bringing  supplies  and  ammunition  from  the  deserted  fortress.  All 
was  done  silently :  the  oars  were  muffled,  and  the  commands  of  the  officers 
were  whispered,  that  no  tidings  should  be  told  of  the  movement  under  way. 
Before  sunrise  all  was  completed  ;  and  when  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun  fell 
upon  the  stars  and  stripes  floating  from  the  flagstaff  of  Sumter,  the  people 
of  Charleston  turned  their  eyes  from  the  starry  flag  to  the  clouds  of  smoke 
arising  from  Fortress  Moultrie,  and  comprehended  that  the  war  had  begun. 
Newspaper  correspondents  and  agents  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  the 
Southern  leaders,  rushed  for  the  telegraph-wires  ;  and  the  news  soon  sped 
over  the  country,  that  Sumter  was  occupied.  The  South  Carolinians  at 
once  began  to  build  earthworks  on  all  points  bearing  on  the  fort,  and  were 
evidently  preparing  to  drive  Anderson  and  his  troops  out.  Anderson 
promptly  telegraphed  to  Washington  for  supplies  and  re-enforcements,  and 
expressed  his  intention  of  staying  as  long  as  the  walls  stood.  The  Govern- 
ment was  dilatory,  but  finally  concluded  to  re-enforce  the  fort,  and  to  that 
end  secured  the  steamer  "  Star  of  the  West,"  and  began  the  work  of 
provisioning  her  for  the  voyage.  It  was  decided  that  she  should  carry  no 
guns  :  that  would  look  too  much  like  war ;  and  accordingly,  on  the  8th  of 
January,  this  helpless  vessel  set  out  to  the  aid  of  the  beleaguered  garrison 
of  Fort  Sumter.  The  news  was  at  once  telegraphed  to  Charleston ;  and 
the  gunners  in  the  Confederate  trenches  shotted  their  guns,  and  awaited  the 
appearance  of  the  steamer.  She  hove  into  sight  on  the  morning  of  the  I2th, 
and  when  within  range  was  notified,  by  a  shot  across  her  bows,  that  she 
was  expected  to  stop.  This  signal  being  disregarded,  the  firing  began  in 
earnest ;  and  the  shot  and  shell  fell  thick  about  the  ship,  which  kept 
pluckily  on  her  course.  But  it  was  useless  to  persist.  One  shot  struck  the 
steamer  near  the  bows,  others  whizzed  through  her  rigging,  and  finally  her 
captain  saw  a  tug  putting  out  from  the  land,  towing  a  schooner  crowded 
with  armed  men  to  cut  off  the  "  Star's  "  retreat.  He  gave  the  command 
"Hard  a  port."  The  ship's  head  swung  round,  and  she  steamed  away, 
leaving  the  garrison  to  their  fate.  An  old  gunner  who  stood  in  a  casemate 


BUJE-JACKETS  OF  '61. 


of  Fort  Sumter,  with  the  lanyard  of  a  shotted  gun  in  his  hand,  tells  the  story 
of  how  he  begged  Major  Anderson  to  let  him  fire  on  the  rebel  batteries. 
"  Not  yet ;  be  patient,"  was  the  response.  When  the  shells  began  to  fall 
thick  about  the  steamer,  he  again  asked  permission  to  retaliate,  but  met 

the  same  response. 
Then  when  he  saw 
the  white  splinters 
fly  from  the  bow, 
where  the  enemies' 
shell  had  struck,  he 
cried,  "  Now,  sure- 
ly, we  can  return 
that  !  "  but  still  the 
answer  was,  "Be 
patient."  When 
the  "  Star  of  the- 
West,"  confessing 
defeat,  turned  and 
fled  from  the  har- 
bor, An  de  rso  n 
turned  and  walked 
away,  curtly  saying 
there  was  no  need 
to  fire  then,  but  to- 
save  the  load  for 
the  necessity  that 
was  coming. 

The  first  naval  operation  of  the  war  was  the  expedition  fitted  out  to 
relieve  Fort  Sumter.  In  itself,  this  expedition  was  but  an  insignificant 
affair,  ending  in  failure ;  but  as  the  first  warlike  action  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  Government,  it  attracted  the  greatest  attention  throughout 
the  nation.  In  preparing  the  vessels  for  sea,  great  care  was  taken  to  keer> 
their  destination  secret,  so  that  no  warning  should  reach  the  Confederates,. 


MAJOR  ROBERT  ANDERSON. 


FORT  SUMTER  UNDER   FIRE. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  17 


who  were  lying  in  their  batteries  about  Sumter,  awaiting  the  first  offensive 
action  of  the  United  States  authorities  to  begin  shelling  the  fortress. 
While  the  squadron  was  fitting  out,  it  was  generally  supposed  that  it  Was 
intended  to  carry  troops  and  munitions  of  war  to  Fort  Pickens  in  Pensacola 
Harbor,  which  was  invested  by  the  Confederates.  When  the  fleet  finally 
sailed,  each  commander  carried  sealed  orders,  upon  opening  which  he  first 
found  that  the  expedition  was  bound  for  Charleston  Harbor.  Notwith- 
standing all  this  secrecy,  the  destination  of  the  fleet  was  telegraphed  to  the 
Confederates  almost  as  soon  as  the  last  vessel  dropped  past  Sandy  Hook  ; 
and  the  fire  from  the  circle  of  batteries  about  the  doomed  fort  in  Charleston 
Harbor  began  immediately.  When  the  fleet  arrived  at  its  destination,  the 
bombardment  was  well 'under  way.  To  attempt  to  land  troops  or  stores 
under  the  withering  fire  concentrated  upon  the  fort,  would  have  been  mad- 
ness. The  only  vessel  of  sufficient  strength  to  engage  the  batteries,  the 
"  Pawnee,"  had  been  separated  from  the  fleet  by  a  gale  a  few  nights  before, 
and  had  not  yet  arrived.  Sadly  the  sailors  gave  up  the  attempt,  and, 
beating  up  and  down  outside  the  harbor  bar,  awaited  the  inevitable  end  of 
the  unequal  conflict.  When,  finally,  after  a  heroic  resistance  of  several 
clays,  Major  Anderson  and  his  little  band,  worn  with  constant  vigilance 
and  labor,  destitute  of  provisions,  and  exposed  to  a  constant  hail  of  iron 
missiles  from  without  and  a  raging  fire  within,  agreed  to  capitulate,  the 
United  States  steamship  "  Baltic,"  of  the  Fort  Sumter  expedition,  took  him 
on  board  and  bore  him  safely  to  New  York.  The  main  purpose  of  the 
expedition  had  failed,  it  is  true ;  but  the  Government  had  made  its  first 
decisive  move,  and  public  sympathy  and  confidence  were  excited. 

The  preparations  for  the  coming  struggle  were  now  being  pressed 
forward  on  every  hand.  An  incident  which  occurred  soon  after  the  fall 
of  Sumter  awakened  the  greatest  enthusiasm  throughout  the  North.  The 
United  States  frigate  "  Constitution  "  was  lying  at  Annapolis,  where  she 
was  being  used  by  the  authorities  of  the  naval  academy  there  for  a  school- 
ship.  Although  the  State  of  Maryland  had  not  seceded  from  the  Union, 
yet  secessionists  were  to  be  found  in  great  numbers  in  all  parts  of  the  State. 
A  number  oi  them  determined  to  seize  the  ship.  Besides  being  a  war-vessel 


1 8  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

of  considerable  strength,  the  "Constitution"  —  or  "Old  Ironsides,"  as  she 
was  affectionately  called — was  famous  for  her  many  exploits,  and  dear  to 
the  hearts  of  Americans  for  her  long  service  under  the  stars  and  stripes. 
"  If  we  can  but  capture  the  vessel,  and  turn  her  guns  against  the  Union," 
thought  the  conspirators,  "we  will  strike  a  heavy  blow  at  the  Northern 
sympathizers."  And,  indeed,  it  would  have  been  a  heavy  blow  to  the 
nation  had  they  captured  the  old  frigate  that  did  such  service  under  Preble 
in  the  war  with  Tripoli;  and  that  in  the  War  of  1812  forced  the  British  to 
strike  their  colors,  and  gave  to  the  United  States  navy  an  equal  place  on  the 
high  seas  with  any  nation  of  the  world.  The  plans  of  the  conspirators 
were  well  laid.  The  ship  was  manned  by  but  twenty  men,  and  lay  above 
a  bar,  over  which  she  could  only  be  carried  by  the  aid  of  a  steam-tug. 
Fortunately  the  officers  and  crew  were  all  loyal.  For  four  days  and  four 
nights  they  watched  the  preparations  being  made  on  shore  for  their  capture. 
Mysterious  signals  flashed  from  the  surrounding  hills.  Armed  bodies  of 
men  were  seen  drilling  on  the  shore.  All  seemed  to  tend  toward  certain 
capture.  Yet  with  no  chance  of  escape  the  brave  men  kept  vigilant  guard, 
with  guns  shotted  and  always  primed. 

Near  Annapolis  was  stationed  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  Infantry,  with 
Gen.  Butler  in  command.  News  was  carried  to  the  general  of  the  perilous 
position  of  the  "  Constitution,"  and  'he  at  once  determined  to  hasten  to  her 
relief.  Just  as  the  crew  of  the  old  frigate  had  abandoned  all  hope,  the 
steamer  "Maryland"  entered  the  harbor,  her  guards  and  decks  crowded 
with  the  men  of  the  Eighth  Massachusetts.  Quickly  the  "  Constitution  " 
was  prepared  for  sailing.  Her  anchors  were  slipped,  all  useless  weight  cast 
overboard,  and,  with  the  "  Maryland "  as  tug,  the  stately  frigate  passed 
slowly  over  the  bar,  and  out  of  the  grasp  of  the  conspirators. 

The  "  Constitution "  was  not  the  only  United  States  vessel  that  the 
Confederates  were  planning  to  seize.  Soon  after  she  escaped  from  their 
hands,  an  event  occurred  by  which  a  vast  quantity  of  naval  stores,  and  the 
mutilated  but  still  valuable  hulls  of  some  of  the  most  powerful  war-vessels 
in  the  United  States  navy,  fell  into  their  hands.  The  United  States  navy- 
yard  at  Norfolk  was  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  governmental 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  19 


possessions.  In  the  great  yard  was  government  property  amounting  to 
more  than  twenty  millions  of  dollars.  Machine-shops,  foundries,  dwellings 
for  officers,  and  a  massive  granite  dry-dock  made  it  one  of  the  most 
complete  navy-yards  in  the  world.  An  enormous  quantity  of  cannon, 
cannon-balls,  powder,  and  small-arms  packed  the  huge  storehouses.  In 
the  magnificent  harbor  were  lying  some  of  the  most  formidable  vessels  of 
the  United  States  navy,  including  the  steam  frigate  "  Merrimac,"  of  which 
we  shall  hear  much  hereafter.  Small  wonder  was  it,  that  the  people  of 
Virginia,  about  to  secede  from  the  Union,  looked  with  covetous  eyes  upon 
this  vast  stock  of  munitions  of  war  lying  apparently  within  their  grasp. 
It  did  not  take  long  for  them  to  persuade  themselves  that  they  were  right 
in  seizing  it ;  and,  once  decided,  their  movements  were  vigorous  and  open. 
Of  their  ability  to  capture  the  yard,  and  gain  possession  of  all  the  property 
there,  they  felt  no  doubt.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  entrap  the 
ships  so  that  they  should  be  unable  to  get  out  of  the  harbor.  Accordingly, 
on  the  1 6th  of  April,  three  large  stone-vessels  were  sunk  directly  in  the 
channel,  apparently  barring  the  exit  of  the  frigates  most  effectually. 
Indeed,  so  confident  of  success  were  the  plotters,  that  in  a  despatch  to 
Richmond,  announcing  the  successful  sinking  of  the  stone-ships,  they  said, 
"  Thus  have  we  secured  for  Virginia  three  of  the  best  ships  of  the  navy." 
But  later  events  showed,  that,  in  boosting  so  proudly,  the  Virginians  were 
committing  the  old  error  of  counting  chickens  before  they  were  hatched. 

The  condition  of  affairs  within  the  navy-yard  now  seemed  desperate. 
There  appeared  to  be  no  chance  of  getting  the  vessels  beyond  the  obstruc- 
tions. The  militia  of  Virginia  was  rapidly  gathering  in  the  town.  Among 
the  naval  officers  on  the  ships  great  dissension  existed,  as  many  were 
Southerners,  about  to  resign  their  posts  in  the  United  States  service  to 
enter  the  service  of  their  States.  These  men  would,  of  course,  give  no 
active  aid  to  any  movement  for  the  salvation  of  the  United  States  property 
in  the  yard.  Any  assistance  must  come  from  the  outside ;  the  beleaguered 
could  but  passively  await  the  course  of  events. 

At  seven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  April  21,  the  United  States  steamer 
"Pawnee,"  which  had  been  lying  under  the  guns  of  Fortress  Monroe, 


20  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

hoisted  anchor,  and  headed  up  the  bay,  on  an  errand  of  destruction.  It 
was  too  late  to  save  the  navy-yard  with  its  precious  stores.  The  only  thing 
to  be  done  was  to  burn,  break,  and  destroy  every  thing  that  might  be  of 
service  to  an  enemy.  The  decks  of  the  "  Pawnee"  were  black  with  men,  — 
soldiers  to  guard  the  gates,  and  complete  the  work  of  destruction  within  the 
yard  ;  blue-jacketed  tars  to  do  what  might  be  done  to  drag  the  entrapped 
vessels  from  the  snare  set  them  by  the  Virginians.  It  was  a  bright  moon- 
light night.  The  massive  hull  of  the  ship-of-war,  black  in  the  cold,  white 
rays  of  the  moon,  passed  rapidly  up  the  Elizabeth  River.  The  sunken 
wrecks  were  reached,  and  successfully  avoided ;  and  about  nine  o'clock  the 
"Pawnee"  steamed  into  the  anchorage  of  the  navy-yard,  to  be  greeted 
with  cheers  from  the  tars  of  the  "  Cumberland  "  and  "  Pennsylvania,"  who 
expected  her  arrival.  The  townspeople  seeing  the  war-vessel,  with  ports 
thrown  open,  and  black  muzzles  of  the  guns  protruding,  took  to  their  houses, 
fearing  she  would  open  fire  on  the  town.  Quickly  the  "  Pawnee  "  steamed 
to  her  moorings.  The  marines  were  hurriedly  disembarked,  and  hastened 
to  guard  the  entrances  to  the  navy-yard.  Howitzers  were  planted  so  as  to 
rake  every  street  leading  to  the  yard.  Thus  secure  against  attack,  the  work 
of  the  night  began.  Nearly  two  thousand  willing  hands  were  set  hard  at 
work,  cannon  were  dismounted  and  spiked,  rifles  and  muskets  dashed  to 
pieces ;  great  quantities  of  combustibles  were  piled  up  in  the  mammoth 
buildings,  ready  to  be  fired  at  a  given  signal.  In  the  mean  time,  the  blue- 
jackets were  not  idle.  It  was  quickly  decided,  that,  of  all  the  magnificent 
vessels  anchored  in  the  harbor,  the  "  Cumberland  "  was  the  only  one  that 
could  be  towed  past  the  obstructions  in  the  river.  All  hands  were  set  to 
work  removing  every  thing  of  value  from  the  doomed  vessels  to  the 
"Cumberland."  Gunpowder  and  combustibles  were  then  arranged  so  as  to 
completely  destroy  the  vessels  when  ignited.  When  the  moon  went  down 
at  twelve  o'clock,  the  preparations  were  complete.  All  the  men  were  then 
taken  on  board  the  "Cumberland"  and  "Pawnee,"  save  a  few  who  were 
left  to  fire  the  trains.  As  the  two  vessels  started  from  the  moorings,  the 
barracks  were  fired,  the  lurid  light  casting  a  fearful  gleam  upon  the  crowded 
yards  and  shrouds  of  the  towering  frigate.  A  little  way  out  in  the  stream. 


a 

PC 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  23. 


a  rocket  was  sent  up  from  the  "  Pawnee."  This  was  the  signal  for  the 
firing  of  the  trains.  The  scene  that  followed  is  thus  described  by  an  eye- 
witness :  — 

"  The  rocket  sped  high  in  air,  paused  a  second,  and  burst  in  showers 
of  many  colored  lights  ;  and,  as  it  did  so,  the  well-set  trains  at  the  ship- 
houses,  and  on  the  decks  of  the  fated  vessels  left  behind,  went  off  as  if 
lit  simultaneously  by  the  rocket.  One  of  the  ship-houses  contained  the  old 
'  New  York,'  a  ship  thirty  years  on  the  stocks,  and  yet  unfinished  ;  the 
other  was  vacant.  But  both  houses,  and  the  old  '  New  York,'  burned  like 
tinder.  The  vessels  fired  were  the  '  Pennsylvania,'  the  '  Merrimac,'  the 
'Germantown,'  the  'Plymouth,'  the  '  Raritan,'  the  'Columbia,'  and  the 
'Dolphin.'  The  old  'Delaware'  and  'Columbus,"  worn-out  and  disabled 
seventy-fours,  were  scuttled,  and  sunk  at  the  upper  docks  on  Friday. 

"I  need  not  try  to  picture  the  scene  of  the  grand  conflagration  that  now 
burst  like  the  day  of  judgment  on  the  startled  citizens  of  Norfolk,  Ports- 
mouth, and  all  the  surrounding  country.  Any  one  who  has  seen  a  ship 
burn,  and  knows  how  like  a  fiery  serpent  the  flame  leaps  from  pitchy  deck 
to  smoking  shrouds,  and  writhes  to  their  very  top  around  the  masts  that 
stand  like  martyrs  doomed,  can  form  some  idea  of  the  wonderful  display 
that  followed.  It  was  not  thirty  minutes  from  the  time  the  trains  were 
fired,  till  the  conflagration  roared  like  a  hurricane,  and  the  flames  from  land 
and  water  swayed  and  met  and  mingled  together,  and  darted  high,  and  fell, 
and  leaped  up  again,  and  by  their  very  motion  showed  their  sympathy  with 
the  crackling,  crashing  war  of  destruction  beneath. 

"But  in  all  this  magnificent  scene  the  old  ship  'Pennsylvania'  was  the 
centre-piece.  She  was  a  very  giant  in  death,  as  she  had  been  in  life.  She 
was  a  sea  of  flame ;  and  when  the  iron  had  entered  her  soul,  and  her  bowels 
were  consuming,  then  did  she  spout  forth  from  every  porthole  of  every 
deck  torrents  and  cataracts  of  fire,  that  to  the  mind  of  Milton  would  have 
represented  her  a  frigate  of  hell  pouring  out  unending  broadsides  of  infernal 
fire.  Several  of  her  guns  were  left  loaded,  but  not  shotted ;  and  as  the  fire 
reached  them  they  sent  out  on  the  startled  morning  air  minute-guns  of 
fearful  peal,  that  added  greatly  to  the  alarm  that  the  light  of  the  fire  had. 


24  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


spread  through  the  country  round  about.  The  '  Pennsylvania '  burned  like 
a  volcano  for  five  hours  and  a  half  before  her  mainmast  fell.  I  stood  watch- 
ing the  proud  but  perishing  old  leviathan  as  this  emblem  of  her  majesty 
was  about  to  come  down.  At  precisely  half-past  nine  o'clock  the  tall  tree 
that  stood  in  her  centre  tottered  and  fell,  and  crushed  deep  into  her  burning 
sides." 

During  this  fearful  scene  the  people  of  the  little  town,  and  the  Virginia 
militia-men  who  had  been  summoned  to  take  possession  of  the  navy-yard, 
were  no  idle  spectators.  Hardly  had  the  "  Pawnee  "  steamed  out  into  the 
stream,  when  the  great  gates  were  battered  down,  and  crowds  of  men 
rushed  in,  eager  to  save  whatever  arms  were  uninjured.  Throughout  the 
fire  they  worked  like  beavers,  and  succeeded  in  saving  a  large  quantity  of 
munitions  of  war  to  be  used  by  the  Confederacy.  The  ships  that  had  been 
fired  all  burned  to  the  water's  edge.  One  was  raised,  and  re-appeared  as 
the  formidable  "Merrimac"  that  at  one  time  threatened  the  destruction 
of  the  whole  Union  navy. 

A  great  amount  of  valuable  property  was  saved  for  the  Virginians  by 
the  coolness  of  a  young  boy,  the  son  of  one  of  the  citizens  of  the  town. 
This  lad  was  within  the  gates  of  the  navy-yard  when  the  troops  from  the 
ships  rushed  in,  and  closed  and  barricaded  them  against  the  townspeople. 
He  was  frightened,  and  hid  himself  behind  a  quantity  of  boards  and  rubbish, 
and  lay  there  a  silent  and  immensely  frightened  spectator  of  the  work  of 
destruction.  An  officer  passed  near  him  directing  the  movements  of  two 
sailors,  who  were  laying  a  train  of  gunpowder  to  an  immense  pile  of 
explosives  and  combustibles  in  the  huge  granite  dry-dock.  The  train 
passed  over  a  broad  board ;  and  the  boy,  hardly  knowing  what  he  did,  drew 
away  this  board,  leaving  a  gap  of  eight  inches  in  the  train.  When  all  the 
trains  were  fired,  this  was  of  course  stopped  at  the  gap ;  and  the  dry-dock 
was  saved,  and  still  remains  in  the  Norfolk  Navy- Yard. 


CHAPTER    III. 


DIFFICULTIES    OF  THE    CONFEDERATES    IN    GETTING   A    NAVY.  —  EXPLOIT   OF   THE  "FRENCH 
LADY."  — NAVAL  SKIRMISHING  ON  THE  POTOMAC.— THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  "  SUMTER." 

HE  disparity  of  maritime  importance  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  and  the  consequent  difficulties  to  be  overcome  by  the  latter 
in  getting  a  navy,  have  been  already  alluded  to.  As  it  has  been 
stated,  in  river-steamers  and  ponderous  rams  the  South  was  fairly 
well  supplied ;  but  what  was  really  needed  were  ocean-going  ships,  to  break 
the  rigid  blockade  that  was  slowly  starving  the  Confederacy  into  submis- 
sion,—  swift  cruisers  to  prey  on  the  commerce  of  the  enemy,  and  powerful 
line-of-battle  ships,  which,  by  successfully  coping  with  the  vessels  of  the 
United  States  on  the  high  seas,  should  secure  for  the  Confederacy  recog- 
nition, and  possibly  assistance,  from  the  great  powers  of  Europe.  But 
how  to  get  these  without  ship-yards,  ship-builders,  or  seamen,  was  a  task 
that  baffled  the  ingenuity  of  the  best  minds  in  the  South.  Immediately 
upon  the  organization  of  the  Confederate  cabinet,  an  agent  was  sent  to 
England  to  negotiate  for  vessels  and  guns.  But,  though  this  agent  was 
a  man  of  wonderful  resources  and  great  diplomacy,  he  found  an  almost 
insuperable  obstacle  in  the  universally  recognized  law  of  nations,  to  the 
effect  that  no  neutral  nation  shall  sell  vessels  or  munitions  of  war  to  belliger- 
ents. It  is  true  that  this  agent,  Capt.  Bulloch,  did  succeed  in  secur- 


26  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


ing  three  ships,  —  the  "Florida,"  the  "  Shenandoah,"  and  the  celebrated 
"Alabama;"  but  to  do  so  cost  an  immense  amount  of  diplomacy  and 
the  sacrificing  of  the  strength  of  the  vessels  to  the  necessity  which 
existed  for  making  them  appear  to  be  merchantmen.  To  build  an  iron- 
clad in  a  foreign  port,  was  out  of  the  question  ;  and  consequently  ships 
so  obtained  were  forced  to  fly  from  any  well-equipped  war-vessel,  and  only 
venture  to  attack  unarmed  merchantmen. 

The  United  States  vessels  which  were  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
Confederates  by  their  officers  were  mainly  small  revenue  cutters,  of  little 
use  in  naval  warfare  and  soon  given  up  or  destroyed.  Not  a  single  ship  of 
this  class  made  any  record  of  distinguished  service  for  the  Confederacy. 
Several  merchant-vessels  were  captured  by  the  Confederates,  who  concocted 
the  most  ingenious  plans  to  secure  success.  One  bright  July  morning 
the  steamer  "  St.  Nicholas "  was  lying  at  her  dock  in  Baltimore,  with 
steam  up,  and  all  prepared  for  her  regular  trip  down  the  Chesapeake.  Quite 
a  large  number  of  passengers  had  bought  tickets,  and  lounged  about  the 
decks,  waiting  for  the  voyage  to  begin.  Among  the  passengers  were  a 
number  of  mechanics,  with  tools  in  their  hands,  going  down  the  bay  in 
search  of  work.  Shortly  before  the  signal  to  cast  off  was  given,  a  car- 
riage was  driven  down  the  wharf,  and  a  lady,  heavily  veiled,  alighted,  as- 
sisted by  two  gentlemen.  The  gentlemen  stated  that  she  was  a  French 
lady,  and  in  ill-health.  Accordingly  she  was  at  once  assigned  a  stateroom, 
to  which  she  retired.  Soon  after,  the  vessel  cast  off  and  headed  down 
the  bay.  When  fairly  out  of  the  harbor,  the  stateroom  door  opened,  and 
instead  of  the  frail,  heavily  veiled  widow  who  went  in,  out  strode  a  black- 
whiskered  man,  armed  to  the  teeth.  He  had  no  trouble  now  in  speaking 
English,  and  at  once  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  ship.  The  honest 
mechanics  dropped  their  tools,  and,  drawing  concealed  weapons,  rallied 
around  their  leader.  They  had  found  the  work  they  started  out  to  seek. 
The  ship  was  captured,  and  a  new  privateer  was  ready  to  prey  on  Northern 
merchant-ships.  Once  in  the  hands  of  the  conspirators,  the  vessel  was 
run  into  a  little  port  where  the  passengers  were  landed,  and  a  hundred 
and  fifty  more  Confederates  taken  aboard.  Under  the  command  of  Capt. 


THE  "  FRENCH  LADY." 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  29 


Thomas  (the  "  French  lady " ),  the  vessel  proceeded  to  Fredericksburg, 
where  she,  and  three  brigs  captured  on  the  way,  were  delivered  to  the 
Confederate  leaders.  This  adventure  so  favorably  terminated,  Thomas, 
with  his  officers,  started  back  to  Baltimore,  to  lay  plans  for  the  capture 
of  some  other  unsuspecting  craft.  But  fortune,  which  had  thus  far  favored 
him,  deserted  him  at  last.  On  the  vessel  upon  which  the  conspirators 
took  passage  were  two  police-officers  of  Baltimore.  One  of  these  officers 
recognized  Thomas,  and  quietly  laid  plans  for  his  capture.  In  the  harbor 
at  Baltimore  stands  Fort  McHenry.  Under  its  frowning  casemates  the 
ships  of  the  United  States  could  lie  without  fear  of  attack  from  the 
thousands  of  discontented  men  who  made  of  Baltimore  a  secession  city. 
The  captain  of  the  "  Mary  Washington  "  was  ordered  by  Lieut.  Carmichael, 
the  officer  of  police,  to  bring  the  ship  into  the  anchorage,  under  the  guns  of 
the  fort.  This  soon  came  to  the  ears  of  Thomas,  who  with  his  men  rallied 
on  the  deck,  and,  with  revolvers  drawn,  seemed  prepared  to  make  a 
desperate  resistance.  They  were  soon  convinced  that  the  officers  had 
ample  power  behind  them,  and  therefore  submitted.  On  arriving  at  the 
fort,  a  company  of  soldiers  was  sent  aboard  the  boat,  and  the  prisoners 
were  marched  ashore.  But  Thomas  was  not  to  be  found.  Search  was 
made  in  all  parts  of  the  boat,  without  avail ;  and  the  officers  had.  decided 
that  he  had  jumped  overboard,  with  the  desperate  intention  of  swimming 
ashore.  Just  as  they  were  about  to  give  up  the  search,  a  noise  was  heard 
that  seemed  to  come  from  a  bureau  in  the  ladies'  cabin.  Search  was  made, 
and  there,  coiled  up  in  a  narrow  bureau-drawer,  lay  the  leader  of  the  band. 
He  had  been  there  two  hours,  and  was  helpless  from  cramp  and  exhaustion. 
He  was  placed  in  a  cell  at  Fort  Lafayette ;  but  later,  having  been  given  the 
privilege  of  walking  about  the  fort,  managed  to  escape  by  making  floats  of 
•empty  tomato-cans,  and  with  their  aid  swimming  almost  two  miles.  He  was 
afterwards  recaptured,  and  remained  a  prisoner  until  released  by  reason  of  an 
exchange  of  prisoners  between  the  North  and  South.  So'on  after  his  capture, 
the  Federal  authorities  at  Baltimore  learned  that  plans  had  been  made  to 
capture  other  passenger  steamers  in  the  same  way ;  but  the  ringleader  being 
locked  up,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  defeating  the  plans  of  the  band. 


30  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

During  the  first  few  weeks  of  the  war,  before  active  hostilities  had  fairly 
commenced,  events  of  this  nature  were  of  almost  daily  occurrence.  On  the 
Potomac  particularly,  small  cruisers  were  in  continual  danger  of  being 
captured,  and  put  into  commission  under  the  Confederate  flag.  A  trading 
schooner  loaded  with  garden-produce,  dropping  lazily  down  the  river  to  the 
bay,  would  suddenly  be  boarded  by  four  or  five  armed  men,  her  crew 
driven  below,  and  the  vessel  run  into  some  convenient  port  on  the  Virginia 
shore,  to  re-appear  in  a  day  or  two  with  a  small  rifled  cannon  mounted 
on  the  fore-castle,  and  a  crew  thirsting  to  capture  more  vessels  for  the 
Confederacy.  On  one  occasion  a  party  of  congressmen  from  Washington 
started  down  the  Potomac  for  an  excursion  to  Hampton  Roads.  Their 
vessel  was  a  small  tug,  which  carried  a  bow-gun  carefully  screened  from 
observation  by  tarpaulin.  A  short  distance  down  the  river,  a  boat  with  a 
howitzer  was  seen  putting  out  into  the  stream,  and  shaping  its  course 
directly  across  the  bows  of  the  tug.  As  the  two  boats  drew  nearer  together, 
a  demand  came  from  the  smaller  that  the  tug  should  be  surrendered  "  to 
the  State  of  Virginia."  Apparently  yielding,  the  captain  of  the  tug  slowed 
up  his  vessel,  and  waited  for  his  assailants  to  come  alongside,  which  they 
did  until  suddenly  confronted  with  the  muzzle  of  a  cannon,  trained  directly 
on  their  boat,  and  a  loud  voice  demanding  that  they  surrender  at  once, 
which  they  accordingly  did,  and  were  taken  to  Washington  by  their 
triumphant  captors.  Many  such  trivial  events  are  chronicled  by  the  news- 
papers of  the  time.  The  advantage  gained  by  either  side  was  small,  and 
the  only  effect  was  to  keep  the  war  sentiment  at  fever-heat. 

The  first  regularly  commissioned  man-of-war  of  the  Confederate  States 
was  the  "  Sumter,"  an  old  passenger  steamer  remodelled  so  as  to  carry  five 
guns.  This  vessel,  though  only  registering  five  hundred  tons,  and  smaller 
than  many  a  steam-yacht  of  to-day,  roamed  over  the  high  seas  at  will  for 
more  than  a  year,  burning  and  destroying  the  merchant-vessels  of  the 
North,  and  avoiding  easily  any  conflicts  with  the  Northern  men-of-war. 
Her  exploits  made  the  owners  of  American  merchant-vessels  tremble  for 
their  property ;  and  the  United  States  authorities  made  the  most  desperate 
attempts  to  capture  her,  but  in  vain.  In  his  journal  of  Dec.  3,  1861,  Capt. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


Semmes  of  the  "  Sumter "  writes  with  the  greatest  satisfaction:  "The 
enemy  has  done  us  the  honor  to  send  in  pursuit  of  us  the  '  Powhattan,'  the 
'  Niagara,'  the  '  Iroquois,'  the  '  Keystone  State/  and  the  '  San  Jacinto.'  " 
Any  one  of  these  vessels  could  have  blown  the  '  Sumter '  out  of  water  with 
one  broadside,  but  the  cunning  and  skill  of  her  commander  enabled  her  to 
escape  them  all. 

It  was  on  the  ist  of  June,  1861,  that  the  "Sumter"  cast  loose  from  the 
levee  at  New  Orleans,  and  started  down  the  Mississippi  on  her  way  to  the 


BLOCKADING  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

open  sea.  For  two  months  workmen  had  been  busy  fitting  her  for  the  new 
part  she  was  to  play.  The  long  rows  of  cabins  on  the  upper  deck  were 
torn  down  ;  and  a  heavy  eight-inch  shell-gun,  mounted  on  a  pivot  between 
the  fore  and  mainmasts,  and  the  grinning  muzzles  of  four  twenty-four- 
pounder  howitzers  peeping  from  the  ports,  told  of  her  warlike  character. 
The  great  levee  of  the  Crescent  City  was  crowded  with  people  that  day. 
Now  and  again  the  roll  of  the  drum,  or  the  stirring  notes  of  "  Dixie,"  would 
be  heard,  as  some  volunteer  company  marched  down  to  the  river  to  witness 
the  departure  of  the  entire  Confederate  navy.  Slowly  the  vessel  dropped 
down  the  river,  and,  rounding  the  English  turn,  boomed  out  with  her  great 


32  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

gun  a  parting  salute  to  the  city  she  was  never  more  to  see.  Ten  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  river  she  stopped ;  for  anchored  off  the  bar  below  lay  the 
powerful  United  States  steamer  "Brooklyn,"  with  three  other  men-of-war, 
each  more  than  a  match  for  the  infant  navy  of  the  Confederacy.  Eleven 
days  the  "  Sumter "  lay  tugging  at  her  anchors  in  the  muddy  current  of 
the  great  river,  but  at  last  the  time  of  action  arrived.  The  news  came 
that  the  "  Brooklyn  "  had  started  in  chase  of  a  vessel,  and  the  mouth  of 
the  river  was  clear.  Quickly  the  "Sumter"  got  under  way,  and  with  all 
steam  up  made  for  the  channel  over  the  bar.  She  was  still  six  miles 
from  the  bar  when  the  "  Brooklyn  "  caught  sight  of  her,  and  abandoning  her 
first  chase  strove  desperately  to  head  her  off.  It  was  a  time  of  intense 
excitement.  Each  vessel  was  about  equally  distant  from  the  bar  for  which 
each  was  steaming  at  the  highest  possible  speed.  For  the  "Sumter,"  it 
was  escape  or  die.  It  was  too  late  to  fly  up  the  river  to  the  sheltering 
guns  of  Fort  St.  Philip.  Should  the  "  Brooklyn "  get  within  range,  the 
"Sumter"  was  doomed.  The  "Brooklyn"  was  the  faster  vessel  of  the  two, 
but  had  the  wind  in  her  teeth;  while  the  "Sumter"  had  the  advantage  of 
wind  and  current.  At  length  the  pass  was  reached,  and  the  "  Sumter " 
dashed  over  the  bar,  and  out  on  the  smooth  blue  water  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  well  ahead  of  her  powerful  foe.  The  "  Brooklyn  "  quickly  rounded 
to,  and  a  quick  puff  of  smoke  from  amidships  told  the  crew  of  the  flying 
vessel  that  the  terrible  pivot-gun  of  their  enemy  had  sent  a  warning 
message  after  them.  But  there  was  but  a  second  of  suspense,  when  a 
great  jet  of  water  springing  from  the  surface  of  the  gulf  told  that  the  bolt 
had  fallen  short.  The  "  Brooklyn "  then  quickly  crowded  on  all  sail,  and 
started  in  hot  pursuit,  but  after  four  hours  abandoned  the  chase,  put  up 
her  helm,  and  started  sullenly  back  for  the  river's  mouth  ;  while  the  tars 
of  the  "Sumter"  crowded  shrouds  and  bulwarks,  and  cheered  heartily  for 
the  navy  of  the  young  Confederacy. 

The  "  Sumter  "  was  now  fairly  embarked  on  her  career.  The  open  sea 
was  her  territory,  and  all  ships  floating  the  stars  and  stripes  at  the  mast- 
head were  to  be  her  prey.  She  was  not  a  strong  vessel ;  and  her  orders 
were  to  avoid  any  battles  with  the  powerful  ships  of  the  "  Yankee  "  navy, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  33 


but  to  seize  and  destroy  all  merchantmen  that  should  come  in  her 
way.  Her  first  purpose  was  to  capture  these  vessels,  and  by  selling  them 
in  neutral  ports  profit  by  the  prize.  But  the  neutral  nations  soon  refused 
to  admit  all  rebel  prizes  to  their  ports ;  and,  as  all  the  ports  of  the 
Confederacy  were  closed  by  the  blockade,  nothing  was  left  but  to  burn 
the  vessels  when  captured.  Many  a  floating  bonfire  marked  the  way  of  the 
little  "  Sumter,"  and  great  was  the  consternation  among  the  ship-owners  of 
the  North. 

When  four  days  out,  the  "Sumter"  captured  her  first  prize.  She  was  a 
fine  ship,  the  "Golden  Rocket"  of  Maine,  six  hundred  and  ninety  tons. 
With  the  United  States  flag  fluttering  at  the  peak,  she  came  sailing  proudly 
towards  her  unsuspected  enemy,  from  whose  peak  the  red  flag  of  England 
was  displayed  as  a  snare.  When  the  two  vessels  came  within  a  mile  of 
each  other,  the  wondering  crew  of  the  merchantman  saw  the  English  flag 
come  tumbling  down,  while  a  ball  of  bunting  rose  quickly  to  the  peak  of 
the  mysterious  stranger,  and  catching  the  breeze  floated  out,  showing  a 
strange  flag,  —  the  stars  and  bars  of  the  Confederacy.  At  the  same  minute 
a  puff  of  smoke  from  the  "  Long  Tom  "  amidships  was  followed  by  a  solid 
shot  ricochetting  along  the  water  before  the  dismayed  merchantman,  and 
conveying  a  forcible,  but  not  at  all  polite,  invitation  to  stop.  The  situation 
dawned  on  the  astonished  skipper  of  the  ship,  —  he  was  in  the  hands  of 
"the  Rebels ; "  and  with  a  sigh  he  brought  his  vessel  up  into  the  wind,  and 
awaited  the  outcome  of  the  adventure.  And  bad  enough  the  outcome  was 
for  him  ;  for  Capt.  Semmes,  unwilling  to  spare  a  crew  to  man  the  prize, 
determined  to  set  her  on  fire.  It  was  about  sunset  when  the  first  boat  put 
off  from  the  "  Sumter  "  to  visit  the  captured  ship.  The  two  vessels  were 
lying  a  hundred  yards  'apart,  rising  and  falling  in  unison  on  the  slow  rolling 
swells  of  the  tropic  seas.  The  day  was  bright  and  warm,  and  in  the  west 
the  sun  was  slowly  sinking  to  the  meeting  line  of  sky  and  ocean.  All  was 
quiet  and  peaceful,  as  only  a  summer  afternoon  in  Southern  seas  can  be. 
Yet  in  the  midst  of  all  that  peace  and  quiet,  a  scene  in  the  great  drama 
of  war  was  being  enacted.  Nature  was  peaceful,  man  violent. 

For  a  time  nothing  was  heard  save  the  measured  thump  of  the  oars  in 


34  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


the  rowlocks,  as  the  boats  plied  to  and  fro  between  the  two  ships,  trans- 
porting the  captured  crew  to  the  "  Sumter."  Finally  the  last  trip  was  made,, 
and  the  boat  hoisted  to  the  davits.  Then  all  eyes  were  turned  toward 
the  "Golden  Rocket."  She  lay  almost  motionless,  a  dark  mass  on  the  black 
ocean.  The  sun  had  long  since  sunk  beneath  the  horizon  ;  and  the  darkness 
of  the  night  was  only  relieved  by  the  brilliancy  of  the  stars,  which  in 
those  latitudes  shine  with  wondrous  brightness.  Soon  the  watches  on 
the  "Sumter"  caught  a  hasty  breath.  A  faint  gleam  was  seen  about  the 
companionway  of  the  "Rocket."  Another  instant,  and  with  a  roar  and 
crackle,  a  great  mass  of  flame  shot  up  from  the  hatch,  as  from  the  crater 
of  a  volcano.  Instantly  the  well-tarred  rigging  caught,  and  the  flame  ran 
up  the  shrouds  as  a  ladder  of  fire,  and  the  whole  ship  was  a  towering  mass, 
of  flame.  The  little  band  of  men  on  the  "  Sumter  "  looked  on  the  terrific 
scene  with  bated  breath.  Though  they  fully  believed  in  the  justice  of  their 
cause,  they  could  not  look  on  the  destruction  they  had  wrought  without 
feelings  of  sadness.  It  was  their  first  act  of  war.  One  of  the  officers  of 
the  "  Sumter  "  writes :  "  Few,  few  on  board  can  forget  the  spectacle,  —  a 
ship  set  fire  to  at  sea.  It  would  seem  that  man  was  almost  warring  with  his 
Maker.  Her  helpless  condition,  the  red  flames  licking  the  rigging  as  they 
climbed  aloft,  the  sparks  and  pieces  of  burning  rope  taken  off  by  the  wind, 
and  flying  miles  to  leeward,  the  ghastly  glare  thrown  upon  the  dark  sea  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  then  the  deathlike  stillness  of  the  scene,  — 
all  these  combined  to  place  the  "  Golden  Rocket "  on  the  tablet  of  our 
memories  forever."  But  it  was  not  long  before  the  crew  of  the  "  Sumter" 
could  fire  a  vessel,  and  sail  away  indifferently,  with  hardly  a  glance  at  their 
terrible  handiwork. 

The  "  Sumter  "  continued  on  her  cruise,  with  varying  fortunes.  Some- 
times weeks  would  pass  with  no  prizes  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  the  long 
voyage.  Occasionally  she  would  run  into  a  neutral  port  for  coal  or  water, 
but  most  of  the  time  was  spent  on  the  open  sea.  The  crew  were  kept 
actively  employed  with  drills  and  exercises ;  while  the  officers,  yawning  over 
their  books  or  games,  longed  for  the  welcome  cry  from  the  masthead,  "  Sail 
ho!"  In  September  the  "Sumter"  captured  a  brig,  the  "Joseph  Park;" 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  35 


and  the  boarding  officer,  on  examining  the  log-book,  found  an  entry  made 
by  her  captain  on  the  day  of  leaving  Pernambuco :  "  We  have  a  tight, 
fast  vessel,  and  we  don't  care  for  Jeff  Davis."  The  unlucky  captain  had 
holloaed  long  before  he  was  out  of  the  wood. 

The  "  Joseph  Park "  was  the  last  prize  the  tars  of  the  "  Sumter "  had 
the  pleasure  of  "looting  "  for  many  days.  Up  and  down  the  tropic  seas  the 
cruiser  travelled,  loitering  about  the  paths  of  ocean  commerce  to  no  avail. 
Often  enough  the  long-drawn  hail  of  the  look-out  in  the  cross-trees,  "  Sail 
ho-o-o-o  ! "  would  bring  the  jackies  tumbling  up  from  the  forecastle,  and  set 
the  officers  peering  anxiously  through  their  telescopes.  But  the  sails  so 
sighted  proved  to  be  English,  French,  Spanish,  any  thing  but  American  ; 
and  life  aboard  the  "Sumter"  became  as  dull  as  a  fisher's  where  fish  are  not 
to  be  found.  In  September  Capt.  Semmes  ran  his  vessel  into  a  Martinique 
harbor,  to  make  some  needed  repairs,  and  give  the  sailors  a  run  ashore. 
Here  they  were  blockaded  for  some  time  by  the  United  States  frigate 
"  Iroquois,"  but  finally  escaped  through  the  cunning  of  Semmes.  Lying  in 
the  harbor  near  the  "  Sumter "  were  two  Yankee  schooners,  whose  cap- 
tains arranged  with  the  commander  of  the  "Iroquois"  to  signal  him  if  the 
"Sumter"  should  leave  the  harbor.  If  on  passing  the  bar  she  headed  south, 
a  single  red  light  should  gleam  at  the  masthead  of  the  schooner  ;  should 
her  course  lie  northward,  two  lights  would  be  displayed.  Semmes,  lying  at 
anchor  in  the  bay,  and  chafing  over  his  captivity,  determined  to  break  away. 
He  had  noticed  the  frequent  communications  between  the  schooners  and 
the  man-of-war,  and  suspected  that  his  course  would  be  spied  out.  Never- 
theless, he  determined  to  dare  all,  and  one  black  night  slipped  his  cables, 
and  with  all  lights  out,  and  running-gear  muffled,  glided  swiftly  out  of  the 
harbor.  In  the  distance  he  could  see  the  lights  of  the  "  Iroquois,"  as  she 
steamed  slowly  up  and  down  in  the  offing,  like  a  sentry  on  guard.  Up  in 
the  cross-trees  of  the  "Sumter"  sat  a  sharp-eyed  old  quarter-master,  with 
orders  not  to  mind  the  "  Iroquois,"  but  to  keep  a  close  watch  on  the 
suspected  schooners.  Soon  a  light  gleamed  from  the  main-top  of  each. 
Semmes's  suspicions  grew.  "  They  have  signalled  our  course,"  said  he : 
"we'll  double."  The  ship's  head  was  quickly  brought  about,  and  headed 


36  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


south  ;  then  all  turned  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  "  Iroquois."  She  had 
headed  northward,  and  was  exerting  every  power  to  catch  the  flying  vessel 
supposed  to  be  just  ahead.  Satisfied  with  having  so  successfully  hum- 
bugged the  enemy,  the  "  Sumter  "  proceeded  leisurely  on  her  course  to  the 
southward,  leaving  the  "  Iroquois  "  steaming  furiously  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. "I  do  think,  however,"  writes  Capt.  Semmes  in  his  log-book,  "that 
a  tough  old  quarter-master,  and  a  grizzled  boatswain's  mate,  who  had  clean 
shaven  their  heads  in  preparation  for  a  desperate  fight,  were  mightily 
disgusted." 

The  subsequent  career  of  the  "Sumter"  was  uneventful.  She  captured 
but  few  more  vessels ;  and  in  January  of  the  next  year  ran  into  the  harbor 
at  Gibraltar,  where  she  was  blockaded  by  a  powerful  United  States  frigate, 
and  finally  sold  as  being  worn  out.  She  had  been  in  commission  a  little 
over  a  year,  and  in  that  time  had  captured  eighteen  vessels,  burned  seven, 
and  released  two  on  a  heavy  ransom  to  be  paid  to  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment at  the  end  of  the  war.  It  is  needless  to  say  these  ransoms  were 
never  paid.  Capt.  Semmes,  with  his  crew,  proceeded  to  England,  and  took 
command  of  a  mysterious  ship,  "No.  290,"  just  built  at  Liverpool,  which 
soon  appeared  on  the  high  seas  as  the  dreaded  "Alabama." 


CHAPTER.  IV. 


THE    POTOMAC    FLOTILLA.  —  CAPTURE    OF    ALEXANDRIA.  —  ACTIONS    AT    MATTHIAS    POINT.— 
BOMBARDMENT  OF  THE  HATTERAS  FORTS. 

N  petty  skirmishes  and  in  general  inactivity  the  forces  of  both 
contestants  idled  away  the  five  months  following  the  .fall  of  Fort 
Sumter.  The  defeat  of  the  Union  armies  at  Bull  Run  had 
checked  active  operations  along  the  Potomac.  On  either  side 
of  the  river  the  hostile  armies  were  drilling  constantly  to  bring  the  raw 
recruits  down  to  the  efficiency  of  trained  soldiers.  Four  hundred  thousand 
men  lay  in  hostile  camps  within  sight  of  each  other.  From  the  national 
Capitol  at  Washington  the  stars  and  bars  of  the  Confederate  flag  could 
be  seen  floating  over  the  camp  at  Arlington.  Occasionally  the  quiet  would 
be  broken  by  the  crack  of  a  rifle,  as  some  straggler,  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  took  a  casual  shot  at  the  sentry  pacing  on  the  other  side  of  the 
broad  stream.  Sometimes  a  battery  would  come  driving  down  to  the  shore, 
select  an  advantageous  spot,  and  begin  an  afternoon's  target  practice  at 
the  hostile  camp ;  but  the  damage  done  was  immaterial,  and  after  wasting 
much  powder  and  shot  the  recruits  would  limber  up  their  guns  and  return 
to  their  camp.  It  would  have  been  easy,  at  almost  any  time,  for  either  army 
to  have  crossed  the  Potomac  and  invaded  the  territory  of  the  enemy ; 
but  each  hung  back  in  apparent  dread  of  taking  the  first  decisive  step. 

37 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


Abraham  Lincoln  at  this  time  illustrated  the  existing  condition  of  affairs, 
by  one  of  those  stories  which  have  made  him  celebrated  as  a  raconteur. 
A  number  of  politicians,  calling  at  the  White  House,  spoke  of  the  apparent 
inactivity  of  the  army  authorities,  and  demanded  that  some  decisive  move 
should  be  made ;  some  powerful  preparations  to  beat  back  the  enemy 
should  he  attempt  to  cross  the  Potomac.  "  Gentlemen,"  said  Lincoln,  with 
the  twinkle  in  his  eye  that  always  foretold  a  story,  "when  I  was  a  boy 
I  saw  an  incident  which  I  have  always  recollected,  and  which  seems  to 
me  to  resemble  very  much  the  attitude  now  assumed  by  the  parties  in 
this  impending  war.  My  father  owned  a  dog,  —  a  particularly  vicious, 

aggressive,  and  pugnacious 
bull-terrier,  —  one  of  these 
fellows  with  heavy,  short 
necks,  and  red,  squinting 
eyes,  that  seem  ever  to  be 
on  the  look-out  for  a  fight. 
Next  door  to  us  lived  a  neigh- 
bor who  likewise  rejoiced  in 
the  possession  of  a  canine 
of  appearance  and  habits  of 
mind  similar  to  our  pet. 
From  the  date  of  their  first 
meeting  these  dogs  had  been  deadly  enemies,  and  had  growled  and  yelped 
at  each  other  through  the  picket-fence  separating  the  two  yards,  until  we 
were  forced  to  keep  at  least  one  dog  chained  continually.  The  strained 
relations  between  the  dogs  became  a  matter  of  general  interest,  and  specu- 
lations were  rife  among  the  neighbors  as  to  the  probable  outcome  of  a  hostile 
meeting.  Those  were  the  times  when  a  lively  dog-fight  would  draw  the 
merchant  from  his  counter,  and  the  blacksmith  from  his  anvil ;  and  it  is 
even  on  record  that  an  honorable  judge  once  hurriedly  adjourned  his  court 
at  the  premonitory  sounds  of  snarling  in  the  court-house  square.  Well, 
the  knowledge  that  two  dogs,  pining  for  a  fight,  were  being  forcibly  re- 
strained, was  too  much  to  be  borne  by  the  people  of  the  village ;  and  a 


FLAG  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  39 


plot  was  concocted  for  bringing  about  a  fight.  •  One  night  two  pickets 
were  surreptitiously  removed  from  the  fence,  leaving  an  opening  of  ample 
size  to  permit  a  dog  to  pass.  In  the  morning  our  dog  was  sunning  him- 
self in  the  yard,  when  the  neighbor's  dog  rushed  to  his  side  of  the  fence, 
and  made  remarks  not  to  be  borne  by  any  self-respecting  canine.  Then 
began  the  usual  performance  of  snarls  and  barks,  and  baring  of  white  teeth, 
as  the  dogs  made  frantic  efforts  to  get  at  each  other.  The  neighbors 
assembled  in  a  crowd,  and  the  knowing  ones  predicted  a  lively  time  when 
those  two  dogs  found  the  hole  in  the  fence.  Down  the  line  of  the  fence 
the  two  curs  walked,  their  eyes  glaring,  their  jaws  snapping,  their  tongues 
out,  and  dropping  foam.  The  racket  was  tremendous.  At  each  place  where 
the  pickets  were  a  little  spread,  they  redoubled  their  efforts  to  clinch.  They 
approached  the  opening.  The  interest  of  the  spectators  redoubled.  Now 
they  reached  the  spot;  sprung  at  each  other;  their  jaws  touched,  —  and 
each,  dropping  his  tail,  slunk  away  to  his  kennel.  Gentlemen,  the  attitude 
of  these  armies  reminds  me  of  that  dog-fight." 

While  the  armies  of  the  two  contestants  were  thus  idly  resting  upon 
their  arms,  the  navy  was  obliged  to  discharge  duties,  which,  while  they 
brought  some  danger,  did  not  gain  glory  for  either  officers  or  men.  The 
joys  of  Washington  society  were  not  for  the  naval  officers.  The  applicant 
for  promotion,  who,  when  asked  by  an  examiner,  "  Where  is  the  post  of  a 
colonel  when  his  regiment  is  drawn  up  for  battle  ? "  responded  promptly, 
"  In  Washington,"  had  been  serving  in  the  army,  and  not  with  the  naval 
corps.  Besides  the  duties  of  the  officers  detailed  upon  the  blockading 
service,  there  remained  to  the  navy  the  arduoifs  task  of  patrolling  the 
Potomac  River,  and  preventing  as  far  as  possible  communication  between 
the  shores. 

This  work,  as  may  be  readily  understood,  demanded  the  most  untiring 
vigilance  and  the  most  unflagging  energy.  The  shores  on  each  side  of 
the  Potomac  are  indented  with  bays  and  tributary  streams  in  which  a  sloop 
or  large  row-boat  can  easily  be  concealed  during  the  day.  At  night  it  was 
impossible  to  prevent  boats  laden  with  contraband  goods,  or  conveying  the 
bearers  of  secret  despatches,  slipping  across  the  river  from  the  northern 


40  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


side,  and  running  into  the  concealment  afforded  by  the  irregularity  of  the 
Virginia  shore-line.  Even  at  this  early  period  of  the  war,  the  vigorous 
blockade  of  the  Confederate  sea-ports  had  created  a  great  lack  of  many 
necessaries  in  the  Southern  States.  Particularly  did  the  lack  of  quinine 
afflict  the  people  of  those  malarial  sections  comprised  within  the  limits  of 
the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States.  So  great  was  the  demand  for  this 
drug,  that  the  enormous  sums  offered  for  it  led  many  a  speculative  druggist 
north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  to  invest  his  all  in  quinine,  and  try  to  run 
it  through  the  Potomac  blockade.  Of  course,  as  the  traffic  was  carried  on 
in  small  boats,  it  was  impossible  to  break  it  up  altogether ;  though  by  the 
efforts  of  the  navy  it  was  almost  destroyed. 

Briefly  stated,  the  duties  of  the  Potomac  flotilla  may  be  said  to  have 
been  to  patrol  the  river  from  Washington  to  its  mouth,  to  inspect  both  sides 
daily  if  possible,  and  to  observe  whether  any  preparations  for  batteries 
were  being  made  at  any  point,  and  watch  for  any  transports  with  troops  or 
provisions,  and  convoy  them  to  Washington.  The  flotilla  consisted  of 
small  vessels,  lightly  armed  ;  the  "  Pawnee,"  the  heaviest  of  the  fleet, 
being  a  sloop  of  less  than  thirteen  hundred  tons,  with  a  battery  of  fif- 
teen guns,  none  of  long  range.  Clearly  such  an  armada  as  this  could  be 
of  but  little  avail  against  the  earthworks  which  the  Virginians  were  busily 
erecting  on  every  commanding  bluff. 

Toward  the  later  part  of  May,  1861,  the  Federal  Government  deter- 
mined to  send  troops  across  the  river  and  occupy  the  city  of  Alexandria. 
The  "  Pawnee "  had  for  some  days  been  lying  off  the  town,  completely 
covering  it  with  her  batteries.  She  had  held  this  position  without  making 
any  offensive  movement ;  as  her  commander  understood,  that,  even  should 
he  compel  the  town  to  surrender,  he  had  not  the  men  necessary  for  holding 
the  position.  On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  Commander  Rowan  saw  two 
steamers  coming  down  the  river,  laden  with  Federal  troops.  He  at  once 
sent  a  boat  ashore,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  city,  which  was 
immediately  evacuated  by  the  Virginian  troops.  When  the  army  of  occupa- 
tion landed,  it  proved  to  be  Ellsworth's  famous  Zouave  Regiment,  made  up 
largely  of  the  firemen  and  "Bowery  boys"  of  New  York  City.  Ellsworth, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  41 


while  marching  through  the  streets  at  the  head  of  his  command,  saw  a 
Confederate  flag  floating  from  a  mast  on  top  of  a  dwelling.  With  two  of 
his  men  he  proceeded  to  enter  the  house,  go  on  the  roof,  and  tear  down  the 
flag.  As  he  came  down  the  stairs,  a  man  carrying  a  gun  stepped  from  a 
doorway,  and  demanded  what  he  did  there.  "  This  is  my  trophy,"  cried 
Ellsworth,  flourishing  the  bit  of  striped  bunting.  "And  you  are  mine," 
responded  the  man,  quickly  bringing  his  gun  up,  and  discharging  it  full 
into  Ellsworth's  breast.  The  two  Zouaves,  maddened  at  the  death  of  their 
commander,  shot  the  slayer  through  the  brain,  and  plunged  their  bayonets 
into  his  body  before  he  fell.  Ellsworth's  death  created  the  greatest  excite- 
ment in  the  North,  as  it  was  almost  the  first  blood  shed  in  the  war.  While 
the  capture  of  Alexandria  was  in  itself  no  great  achievement,  it  was  of 
importance  as  the  first  move  of  the  Northern  armies  into  Virginia. 

Had  the  efforts  of  the  navy  towards  keeping  the  Potomac  clear  of 
hostile  batteries  been  supplemented  by  a  co-operating  land  force,  an 
immense  advantage  would  have  been  gained  at  the  very  outset.  As  it 
was,  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  temporarily  check  the  exertions  of  the 
enemy.  A  battery  silenced  by  the  guns  from  the  ships  in  the  daytime 
could  be,  and  usually  was,  repaired  during  the  night,  and  remained  a 
constant  menace  to  the  transports  going  to  or  from  Washington.  Under 
such  circumstances,  the  work  of  the  Potomac  flotilla  could  only  be  fatiguing 
and  discouraging.  Much  of  it  had  to  be  performed  in  row-boats ;  and  the 
crews  of  the  various  vessels  were  kept  rowing  up  and  down  the  banks  of 
the  river,  making  midnight  excursions  up  creeks  to  examine  suspected 
localities,  and  lying  in  wait  for  smugglers,  and  the  mail-carriers  and  spies 
of  the  enemy.  They  were  in  continual  danger  of  being  opened  upon  by 
masked  batteries  and  concealed  sharp-shooters.  The  "  prize  money,"  the 
hope  of  which  cheers  up  the  man-o'-wars-man  in  his  dreariest  hours, 
amounted  to  nothing ;  for  their  prizes  were  small  row-boats  and  worthless 
river-craft.  The  few  engagements  with  the  enemies'  batteries  brought 
little  glory  or  success.  In  one  battle  on  the  2Qth  of  May,  1861,  a  flotilla, 
consisting  of  the  "  Thomas  Freeborn "  (a  paddle-wheel  steamer,  carrying 
three  guns),  the  "  Anacostia,"  and  the  "  Resolute  "  (a  little  craft  of  ninety 


42  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


tons  and  two  guns),  engaged  the  batteries  at  Aquia  Creek,  and  pounded 
away  with  their  pygmy  guns  for  two  hours,  without  doing  any  visible 
damage.  Two  days  later  the  bombardment  was  renewed,  and  two  of  the 
vessels  were  slightly  damaged.  A  more  serious  event  occurred  at  Matthias 
Point  in  the  latter  part  of  June.  Matthias  Point  was  one  of  the  chief 
lurking-places  of  the  Confederate  guerillas,  who,  concealed  in  the  dense 
undergrowth  along  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  could  pour  a  destructive  fire 
into  any  vessels  that  passed.  Commander  J.  H.  Ward  of  the  "  Freeborn  " 
planned  to  break  up  this  ambush,  sending  a  landing  party  to  cut  away  the 
trees  and  undergrowth.  The  landing  party,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Chaplin, 
was  to  be  covered  by  the  guns  of  the  "Freeborn  "  and  "Reliance."  It  was 
late  in  the  afternoon  when  they  pushed  off  for  the  shore.  All  seemed 
quiet ;  and  the  bursting  of  the  shells,  which  were  occasionally  dropped  into 
the  woods,  seemed  to  have  driven  the  enemy  away.  Hardly,  however,  had 
the  sailors  begun  the  work  of  hewing  down  the  undergrowth,  when  from 
all  quarters  a  hot  fire  was  begun,  driving  them  to  their  boats  in  a  rout. 
The  decks  of  the  two  vessels  were  swept  by  the  storm  of  lead.  Commander 
Ward,  while  sighting  the  bow-gun  of  the  "Freeborn,"  was  struck  in  the 
abdomen  by  a  bullet,  and  died  in  a  few  minutes.  On  the  shore  the  sailors 
were  hurrying  into  the  boats  and  pushing  off  to  avoid  capture.  Lieut. 
Chaplin  acted  with  great  bravery,  and  succeeded  in  getting  all  his  men 
away,  with  their  muskets.  The  last  man  left  on  the  shore  was  unable  to 
swim  ;  and  Chaplin,  taking  him  on  his  shoulders,  bore  him  safely  to  the 
boat.  Though  the  fire  of  the  enemy  was  concentrated  on  the  two,  neither 
was  hurt,  although  a  minie-ball  passed  through  the  lieutenant's  cap. 

Two  months  later  this  same  locality  was  the  scene  of  another  bloody 
disaster  to  the  Union  arms.  On  the  :6th  of  August  the  "  Resolute  "  and 
the  "Reliance"  were  ordered  to  make  a  reconnoisance  of  the  neighborhood 
of  Matthias  Point.  After  steaming  about  the  shore  for  some  time,  and 
noticing  nothing  of  a  suspicious  character,  a  boat  was  seen  on  the  Virginia 
shore,  and  an  officer  and  five  men  despatched  to  capture  her.  They  had 
just  reached  her,  and  were  in  the  act  of  making  fast,  when  a  volley  of 
musketry  was  fired  from  the  bushes  not  more  than  five  yards  away,  and 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  43 


three  of  the  crew  were  instantly  killed,  and  one  wounded.  The  watchers 
on  the  war-vessels,  lying  in  the  river,  sprang  to  their  guns,  and  threw 
several  rounds  of  shell  into  the  cover  that  sheltered  the  enemy,  soon  driving 
them  away.  The  two  uninjured  men  in  the  boat  succeeded  in  getting  her 
away  with  her  load  of  dead  and  dying. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  exasperating,  how  infuriating,  such  service 
as  this  must  have  been  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the  navy.  For  a  man  to 
risk  his  life  in  the  heat  and  excitement  of  a  battle,  is  as  nothing  to  the 
feeling  that  one  may  be  at  any  time  caught  in  a  death-trap,  and  slaughtered 
in  cold  blood. 

A  more  successful  expedition  was  organized  in  October,  by  Lieut. 
Harrill  of  the  steamer  "  Union."  He  had  been  informed  that  a  large 
schooner  was  lying  in  Quantico  Creek,  and  that  the  Confederates  were 
massing  a  number  of  troops  there  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the  river. 
He  at  once  determined  to  destroy  the  schooner.  Accordingly  he  manned 
three  boats  at  half-past  two  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  darkness  proceeded, 
with  muffled  oars,  toward  the  mouth  of  the  creek.  Here  some  difficulty  was 
experienced,  as  the  entrance  is  narrow  and  obstructed  by  sandbars  ;  but 
working  energetically,  and  in  perfect  silence,  the  sailors  overcame  all- 
obstacles.  Once  in  the  creek,  they  pulled  rapidly  along  within  pistol-shot 
of  the  shore,  until  the  tall  masts  of  the  schooner  could  be  descried  in  the 
darkness.  One  sentry  was  on  guard,  who  fled  wildly  as  he  saw  the 
mysterious  boat  emerge  from  the  darkness  of  the  night.  The  grappling- 
irons  were  thrown  aboard,  and  the  jackies  swarmed  nimbly  up  the  sides,  and 
began  the  work  of  destruction.  A  huge  pile  of  combustibles  was  made  in 
the  cabin,  and  hastily  set  on  fire.  The  flames  spread  rapidly ;  and,  though 
they  insured  the  destruction  of  the  schooner,  they  also  lighted  up  the  creek, 
showing  the  boats  with  the  sailors  bending  to  their  oars  to  escape  the 
storm  of  bullets  that  they  knew  must  follow.  The  glare  of  the  burning 
schooner,  the  reflection  of  the  flames  on  the  water,  the  flash  of  the  rifles 
from  the  shores  made  a  wild  picture.  Occasionally  a  flash  from  the  river 
was  followed  by  a  deep  boom,  as  a  heavy  shot  left  the  muzzle  of  a  cannon 
on  the  steamers.  But  through  it  all,  the  men  escaped ;  and  the  projected 


44 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


invasion  of  the  Confederates   was  abandoned,   owing  to   the  loss  of  their 
schooner. 

All  through  the  war  this  untiring  patrol  of  the  Potomac  was  continued. 
Among  miasmatic  vapors  and  clouds  of  noxious  insects  on  mud-flats,  in 
narrow  channels  whose  densely  wooded  banks  might  conceal  legions  of 


NAVAL  PATROL  ON  THE  POTOMAC. 

hostile  sharp-shooters,  the  river  navy  kept  up  its  work.  Earning  but  little 
glory,  though  in  the  midst  of  constant  peril,  the  officers  and  men  kept  up 
their  work,  and  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  final  outcome  of  the  great 
conflict. 

All    this   time   the   officers    of   the   naval  vessels,   riding   at   anchor  in 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  45 

Hampton  Roads,  were  chafing  under  the  enforced  idleness.  Even  the 
occasional  artillery  duels  with  which  their  army  brethren  whiled  away  the 
time  were  denied  to  the  wistful  blue-jackets.  Beyond  an  occasional  chase, 
generally  useless,  after  a  fleet  blockade-runner,  the  sailors  had  absolutely 
no  employment.  At  last,  however,  the  opportunity  came.  The  first  great 
naval  expedition  of  the  war  was  set  under  way. 

From  Cape  Henry,  at  the  mouth  of  the  James  River,  the  coast  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina  sweeps  grandly  out  to  the  eastward,  like  a 
mammoth  bow,  with  its  lower  end  at  Beaufort,  two  hundred  miles  south. 
Along  this  coast-line  the  great  surges  of  mighty  ocean,  rolling  with 
unbroken  course  from  the  far-off  shore  of  Europe,  trip  and  fall  with 
unceasing  roar  upon  an  almost  uninterrupted  beach  of  snowy  sand,  a 
hundred  and  more  miles  long.  Near  the  southern  end  of  this  expanse  of 
sand  stands  a  lighthouse,  towering  solitary  above  the  surrounding  plain  of 
sea  and  sand.  No  inviting  beacon  giving  notice  to  the  weary  mariner 
of  safe  haven  is  this  steady  light  that  pierces  the  darkness  night  after 
night.  It  tells  of  treacherous  shoaJs  and  roaring  breakers  ;  of  the  loss  of 
many  a  good  ship,  whose  ribs,  half  buried  in  the  drifting  sand,  lie  rotting 
in  the  salt  air ;  of  skies  ever  treacherous,  and  waters  ever  turbulent. 
It  is  the  light  of  Hatteras. 

Some  twenty  miles  below  Cape  Hatteras  light  occurs  the  first  great 
opening  in  the  stretch  of  sand  that  extends  south  from  Cape  Henry.  Once 
he  has  passed  through  this  opening ;  the  mariner  finds  himself  in  the  most 
peaceful  waters.  The  great  surges  of  the  Atlantic  spend  themselves  on  the 
sandy  fringe  outside,  while  within  are  the  quiet  waters  of  Pamlico  and 
Albemarle  Sounds,  dotted  with  fertile  islands,  and  bordering  a  coast  rich 
in  harbors.  The  wary  blockade-runner,  eluding  the  watchfulness  of  the 
United  States  blockaders  cruising  outside,  had  but  to  pass  the  portals  of 
Hatteras  Inlet,  to  unload  at  his  leisure  his  precious  cargo,  and  load  up  with 
the  cotton  which  grew  in  great  abundance  on  the  islands  and  fertile  shores 
of  the  sound. 

Recognizing  the  importance  of  this  harbor,  the  Confederates  had  early 
in  the  war  fortified  the  point  north  of  Hatteras  Inlet.  Shortly  after  the 


46  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  a  Yankee  skipper,  Daniel  Campbell,  incautiously 
running  his  schooner  the  "  Lydia  Francis "  too  near  the  stormy  cape,  was 
wrecked,  and  sought  shelter  among  the  people  at  the  inlet.  When,  some 
days  after,  he  proposed  to  leave,  he  was  astounded  to  find  that  he  had  been 
delivered  from  the  sea  only  to  fall  a  prey  to  the  fortunes  of  war.  He  was 
kept  a  prisoner  for  three  months ;  and  on  his  release,  going  directly  to 
Fortress  Monroe,  he  proved  that  he  had  kept  his  eyes  open  to  some 
purpose.  He  reported  to  flag-officer  Stringham  that  the  Confederates  had 
two  batteries,  —  one  of  ten,  the  other  of  five  guns,  —  known  as  Fort 
Hatteras  and  Fort  Clark.  With  these  two  forts  the  Confederates  claimed 
that  they  could  control  the  entrance  to  Albemarle  Sound. 

As  soon  as  this  information  was  received,  an  expedition  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  these  forts  was  organized.  It  was  necessarily  chiefly  naval,  although 
a  land  force  under  Gen.  Butler  went  with  the  fleet.  On  Aug.  25,  1861, 
Hampton  Roads  presented  a  scene  of  the  greatest  activity.  The  fleet 
seemed  to  have  awakened  from  a  long  sleep.  Every  vessel  was  being 
hastily  prepared  for  sailing.  Two  transports,  the  "George  Peabody"  and 
the  "Adelaide,"  were  crowded  with  the  soldiers  of  Gen.  Butler's  command. 
From  the  mainmast  of  the  flag-ship  "  Minnesota "  waved  the  signal-flags, 
changing  constantly  as  different  orders  were  sent  to  the  commanders  of 
the  'other  war-ships.  At  two  o'clock  three  balls  of  bunting  were  run  up 
to  the  truck,  and  catching  the  breeze  were  blown  out  into  flags,  giving  the 
order,  "Get  under  way  at  once."  From  the  surrounding  men-of-war  came 
the  shrill  pipe  of  the  boatswains'  whistle,  and  the  steady  tramp  of  the  men  at 
the  capstan  bars  as  they  dragged  the  anchors  to  the  cat-heads.  The  nimble 
blue-jackets,  climbing  about  the  shrouds  and  yards,  soon  had  the  snowy 
clouds  of  canvas  set.  The  wind  was  fresh ;  and  with  bands  playing,  and 
cheers  of  blue-jackets  and  soldiers,  the  stately  squadron  sailed  down  the  bay. 

But  none  on  board,  save  the  superior  officers,  knew  whither  the  fleet 
was  bound.  Hardly  were  they  fairly  on  the  Atlantic,  when  the  course 
was  shaped  to  the  southward,  and  that  much  was  settled.  But  whether 
New  Orleans,  Charleston,  or  Beaufort  was  the  point  to  be  attacked,  the 
sailors  did  not  know. 


THE  FLEET  OFF  HATTERAS. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  49 


The  squadron  which  sailed  from  Hampton  Roads  consisted  of  the  war- 
vessels  "  Minnesota,"  "Wabash,"  "Pawnee,"  "Monticello,"  and  "Harriet 
Lane;"  the  transports  "George  Peabody "  and  "Adelaide;"  and  the  tug 
"  Fanny."  Soon  after  rounding  Cape  Henry,  the  vessels  became  separated  ; 
and  when  the  other  vessels  reached  Hatteras,  on  the  2/th,  the  "Minnesota" 
and  "  Wabash "  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  As  these  were  the  most 
powerful  frigates  of  the  fleet,  great  fears  were  felt  for  the  success  of  the 
expedition  ;  but  at  last  they  appeared  on  the  horizon.  A  place  for  landing 
was  selected,  and  the  vessels  withdrew  into  the  offing  to  spend  the  night. 
It  was  determined  to  begin  the  attack  early  the  next  day. 

The  morning  dawned  clear,  with  a  calm  sea.  At  four  o'clock  the 
men  were  summoned  to  breakfast.  At  seven  the  operation  of  landing  the 
troops  was  begun.  All  the  surf-boats,  barges,  and  life-boats  in  the  fleet 
were  put  to  the  work.  The  great  war-vessels  moved  into  position,  and 
prepared  to  cover  with  a  terrific  fire  the  landing  of  the  troops.  The  first 
shot  was  fired  by  the  "  Wabash,"  and  the  cannonading  was  at  once  taken 
up  by  the  rest  of  the  fleet.  The  vessels  were  placed  so  that  a  whole 
broadside  could  be  discharged  at  once.  Thousands  of  pounds  of  iron  balls 
were  thrown  into  the  forts.  Under  cover  of  the  cannonading,  the  disem- 
barkation of  the  troops  began. 

But  the  opposition  of  the  enemy  was  not  the  only  difficulty  to  be  met. 
During  the  time  consumed  in  getting  ready  to  land,  heavy  banks  of  clouds 
had  been  crawling  up  from  the  horizon,  and  the  soft  wind  of  morning  had 
grown  into  a  steady  blow.  Cape  Hatteras  was  true  to  its  reputation.  On 
the  shelving  beach,  where  the  troops  must  land,  the  great  rollers  were 
breaking  in  torrents  of  foam.  The  first  life-boats  that  attempted  the 
landing  were  swamped,  and  the  soldiers  reached  the  land  wet  and  chilled 
through.  The  surf-boats  were  stove  in.  The  barges,  which  had  been 
relied  upon  to  land  men  in  large  numbers,  proved  unmanageable,  and  were 
towed  away  by  the  "  Harriet  Lane."  When  the  attempt  to  land  the  troops 
was  given  up,  it  was  found  that  but  three  hundred  and  twenty  men  had 
been  landed.  This  was  too  small  a  party  to  storm  the  forts,  and  the  issue 
of  the  battle  depended  upon  the  great  guns  of  the  navy. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


By  this  time  the  gunners  on  the  ships  had  calculated  the  exact  range, 
and  were   firing  with   fearful    effect.     Broadside   followed   broadside,   with 


ATTACK  ON  THE  HATTERAS  FORTS. 


the  regularity  of  machinery.  It  was  war  without  its  horrors  for  the 
blue-jackets,  since  bad  marksmanship  or  poor  powder  prevented  the  Con- 
federate gunners  doing  any  damage.  On  the  gun-deck  of  the  superb  frigate 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  51 

"  Minnesota,"  the  jackies  were  working  their  guns  as  coolly  as  though  they 
were  on  drill.  The  operations  of  loading  and  firing  were  gone  through 
with  like  clock-work.  The  officers  could  watch  the  course  of  the  shells 
until  they  struck,  and  instruct  the  men,  without  undergoing  any  danger. 

But  in  the  forts  the  scene  was  one  of  terror.  As  soon  as  the  gunners 
of  the  fleet  had  secured  the  range,  the  shells  began  crashing  into  the  fort, 
bewildering  the  untried  soldiers,  and  driving  them  from  their  guns.  A 
shell  falling  in  the  fort,  and  bursting,  would  sweep  clean  a  space  thirty  feet 
square.  It  was  madness  to  try  to  work  the  guns.  All  sought  refuge  in 
the  bomb  proofs,  and  an  occasional  shot  was  all  that  showed  the  presence 
of  any  defenders  in  the  forts.  Soon  the  Confederates  decided  to  abandon 
Fort  Clark,  the  smaller  of  the  two,  and  mass  their  forces  in  Fort  Hatteras. 
As  a  ruse,  to  check  the  bombardment  of  the  ships,  the  flags  on  both  forts 
were  hauled  down.  This  was,  of  course,  taken  as  a  token  of  surrender ; 
and  as  the  cannonading  stopped,  and  the  clouds  of  gray  gunpowder-smoke 
lifted,  the  shrouds  of  the  bombarding  squadron  were  filled  with  men,  and 
cheer  upon  cheer  rang  out  in  honor  of  the  victory.  Soon  the  troops 
occupied  the  deserted  battery,  and  the  "  Monticello  "  was  ordered  into  the 
inlet  to  take  possession  of  Fort  Hatteras.  She  had  proceeded  only  a  little 
way,  however,  when  suddenly  a  heavy  fire  was  opened  upon  her  from  the 
fort,  and  at  the  same  time  a  large  body  of  re-enforcements  was  seen 
approaching  from  the  south.  The  gunners  came  down  from  the  shrouds, 
stopped  cheering,  and  began  their  work  again.  For  a  time  the  "  Monti- 
cello  "  was  in  a  dangerous  position.  In  a  narrow  and  unknown  channel,  she 
was  forced  to  retreat  slowly,  under  heavy  fire  from  the  fort,  being  hit  eight 
times.  The  heavy  fire  of  the  other  vessels,  however,  soon  drove  the  Con- 
federate gunners  from  their  guns.  The  sailors  worked  untiringly,  and 
seemed  enraged  by  the  deceit  practised  by  the  enemy.  One  man,  while 
sponging  out  a  gun,  preparatory  to  reloading  it,  dropped  his  sponge  over- 
board. Quick  as  thought  he  vaulted  the  gunwale,  and  re-appeared  on  the 
surface  of  the  water  swimming  for  the  sponge.  Recovering  it,  he  in  a  few 
moments  crawled  dripping  through  a  porthole,  to  report  respectfully  to  the 
captain  of  the  gun  :  "Just  come  aboard,  sir." 


52  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 


The  fort  abandoned  by  the  Confederates  had  been  occupied  by  the 
troops  that  had  been  landed ;  and,  under  cover  of  the  furious  bombardment, 
the  work  of  landing  was  vigorously  prosecuted.  Night  came,  and  with  it 
a  gale  so  heavy  that  the  vessels  had  to  desert  their  stations,  and  withdraw 
into  the  offing.  When  the  morning  bro"ke,  however,  the  sea  had  calmed 
sufficiently  to  allow  the  gunners  to  again  set  about  their  terrible  work. 

The  second  day's  firing  was  even  more  accurate  than  that  of  the  first ;. 
and  the  gray-coats  were  soon  compelled  to  retire  to  the  bomb-proofs,  and 
abandon  all  attempt  to  return  the  fire  of  the  ships.  Soon  three  shells  in 
rapid  succession  burst  close  to  the  magazine  of  the  fort,  telling  plainly 
to  the  affrighted  defenders  that  nothing  was  left  for  them  but  surrender. 
A  white  flag  was  raised,  and  Commodore  Barren  went  off  to  the  fleet  to 
formally  surrender  the  forts  and  the  eight  hundred  men  of  his  command. 
When  the  terms  were  concluded,  the  defeated  soldier  turned  to  flag-officer 
Stringham,  and  asked  if  the  loss  of  life  on  the  ships  had  been  very  large. 
"  Not  a  man  has  been  injured,"  was  the  response.  "  Wonderful !  "  exclaimed 
the  questioner.  "  No  one  could  have  imagined  that  this  position  could 
have  been  captured  without  sacrificing  thousands  of  men."  But  so  it  was. 
Without  the  loss  of  a  man,  had  fallen  a  most  important  post,  together  with, 
cannon,  provisions,  and  nearly  seven  hundred  men. 


CHAPTER   V. 


THE  "TRENT"  AFFAIR. —OPERATIONS  IN  ALBEMARLE  AND  PAMLICO  SOUNDS.  —  DESTRUCTION 

OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  FLEET. 

ARLY  in  the  war  an  event  occurred  which  for  a  time  seemed 
likely  to  bring  England  to  the  aid  of  the  Confederates.  The 
Confederate  Government  had  appointed  as  diplomatic  commis- 
sioners to  England  two  gentlemen,  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell. 
They  had  escaped  from  Mobile  on  a  fleet  blockade-runner,  and  reached 
Havana,  where  they  remained  a  week  waiting  for  the  regular  English 
packet  to  convey  them  to  Liverpool.  While  in  Havana  they  were  lavishly 
entertained  by  the  colony  of  Confederate  sympathizers  there;  and  feeling 
perfectly  safe,  now  that  they  were  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  they  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  their  official  character,  and  boasted 
of  the  errand  upon  which  they  were  sent. 

The  United  States  frigate  "  San  Jacinto,"  which  was  one  of  the  many 
vessels  kept  rushing  about  the  high  seas  in  search  of  the  privateer 
"  Sumter,"  happened  to  be  in  the  harbor  of  Havana  at  this  time.  She  was 
commanded  by  Capt.  Wilkes,  an  officer  who  had  made  an  exhaustive  study 
of  international  law,  particularly  as  bearing  upon  the  right  of  a  war-vessel 
to  search  a  vessel  belonging  to  a  neutral  nation.  Capt.  Wilkes,  knowing 
that  by  capturing  the  Confederate  commissioners,  he  could  win  for  himself 

53 


54  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


the  applause  of  the  entire  North,  determined  to  make  the  attempt.  By 
a  study  of  his  books  bearing  on  international  law,  he  managed  to  convince 
himself  that  he  was  justified  in  stopping  the  British  steamer,  and  taking 
from  it  by  force  the  bodies  of  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell.  Accordingly  he 
set  sail  from  the  harbor  of  Havana,  and  cruised  up  and  down  at  a  distance 
of  more  than  a  marine  league  from  the  coast,  awaiting  the  appearance  of  the 
vessel.  Five  days  after  the  "  San  Jacinto's  "  departure,  the  commissioners 
set  sail  in  the  British  mail-steamer  "Trent."  She  was  intercepted  in  the 
Bahama  Channel  b/y  the  "  San  Jacinto."  When  the  man-of-war  fired  a 
blank  cartridge  as  a  signal  to  heave  to,  the  commander  of  the  "  Trent " 
ran  the  British  flag  to  the  peak,  and  continued,  feeling  secure  under  the 
emblem  of  neutrality.  Then  came  a  more  peremptory  summons  in  the 
shape  of  a  solid  shot  across  the  bows ;  and,  as  the  incredulous  captain  of 
the  "Trent"  still  continued  his  course,  a  six-inch  shell  was  dropped  within 
about  one  hundred  feet  of  his  vessel.  Then  he  stopped.  A  boat  put  off 
from  the  "San  Jacinto,"  and  made  for  the  "Trent."  Up  the  side  of  the 
merchant-vessel  clambered  a  spruce  lieutenant,  and  demanded  the  immediate 
surrender  of  the  two  commissioners.  The  captain  protested,  pointed  to  the 
flag  with  the  cross  of  St.  George  waving  above  his  head,  and  invoked  the 
power  of  her  Britannic  majesty, — all  to  no  avail.  The  two  commissioners 
had  retired  to  their  cabins,  and  refused  to  come  out  without  being  compelled 
by  actual  force.  The  boat  was  sent  back  to  the  "  San  Jacinto,"  and  soon 
returned  with  a  file  of  marines,  who  were  drawn  up  with  their  muskets  on 
the  deck  of  the  "Trent."  Every  British  ship  which  carries  mails  carries  a 
regularly  commissioned  officer  of  the  navy,  who  is  responsible  for  them. 
This  officer  on  the  "Trent"  was  somewhat  of  a  martinet,  and  his  protests 
at  this  violation  of  the  rights  of  a  neutral  vessel  were  very  vigorous. 
When  the  first  gun  was  fired,  he  rushed  below,  and  soon  re-appeared  in  all 
the  resplendent  glory  of  gold  lace  and  brass  buttons  which  go  to  make  up 
a  naval  uniform.  He  danced  about  the  deck  in  an  ecstasy  of  rage,  and 
made  the  most  fearful  threats  of  the  wrath  of  the  British  people.  The 
passengers  too  became  excited,  and  protested  loudly.  Every  thing  pos- 
sible was  done  by  the  people  of  the  "  Trent "  to  put  themselves  on 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  55 


record  as  formally  protesting.  Nevertheless,  the. commissioners  were  taken 
away,  carried  to  New  York,  and  from  there  sent  into  confinement  at.  Fort 
Warren. 

When  the  news  of  this  great  achievement  became  known,  Wilkes  was 
made  the  lion  of  the  hour.  Unthinking  people  met  and  passed  resolutions 
of  commendation.  He  was  tendered  banquets  by  cities.  He  was  elected  a 
member  of  learned  societies  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  was  generally 
eulogized.  Even  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  who  should  have  recognized 
the  grave  troubles  likely  to  grow  out  of  this  violation  of  the  principles  of 
neutrality,  wrote  a  letter  to  Capt.  Wilkes,  warmly  indorsing  his  course,  and 
only  regretting  that  he  had  not  captured  the  steamer  as  well  as  the  two 
commissioners. 

But  fortunately  we  had  wiser  heads  in  the  other  executive  departments 
of  the  government.  President  Lincoln  and  Secretary  Seward  quickly  dis- 
avowed the  responsibility  for  Wilkes's  action.  Letters  were  written  to  the 
United  States  minister  in  England,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  alluding  to  the 
proceeding  as  one  for  which  Capt.  Wilkes  as  an  individual  was  alone  respon- 
sible. And  well  it  was  that  this  attitude  was  taken  :  for  hardly  had  the  news 
reached  England,  when  with  one  voice  the  people  cried  for  war.  Sympathiz- 
ing with  the  South  as  they  undoubtedly  did,  it  needed  but  this  insult  to  the 
British  flag  to  rouse  the  war  spirit  of  the  nation.  Transports  loaded  with 
troops  were  immediately  ordered  to  Canada;  the  reserves  were  called  out; 
the  ordnance  factories  were  set  running  day  and  night  ;  while  the  press  of 
the  nation,  and  the  British  minister  at  Washington,  demanded  the  immediate 
release  of  the  captives,  and  a  full  apology  from  the  United  States. 

The  matter  was  conducted  on  this  side  with  the  utmost  diplomacy.  We 
were  undoubtedly  in  the  wrong,  and  the  only  thing  was  to  come  out  with 
as  little  sacrifice  of  national  dignity  as  possible.  The  long  time  necessary 
for  letters  to  pass  between  this  country  and  England  was  an  important 
factor  in  calming  the  people.  Minister  Adams  said,  that,  had  the  Atlantic 
cable  then  been  in  operation,  nothing  could  have  prevented  a  war.  In  the 
end  the  demands  of  Great  Britain  were  acceded  to,  and  the  commissioners 
proceeded  on  their  way.  The  last  note  of  the  diplomatic  correspondence 


56  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

was  a  courteous  letter  from  President  Lincoln  to  the  British  minister,  offer- 
ing to  allow  the  British  troops  en  route  for  Canada  to  land  at  Portland,  Me., 
and  thus  avoid  the  long  winter's  march  through  New  Brunswick.  The 
peaceful  settlement  of  the  affair  chagrined  the  Confederates  not  a  little,  as 
they  had  hoped  to  gain  Great  Britain  as  a  powerful  ally  in  their  fight 
against  the  United  States. 

Soon  after  the  capture  of  the  forts  at  Hatteras  Inlet,  the  authorities 
of  the  Union  again  turned  their  attention  in  that  direction,  with  the  result 
of  sending  the  Burnside  expedition  to  Albemarle  Sound. 

The  coast  of  North  Carolina  is  honeycombed  with  rivers,  inlets,  and 
lagoons,  which  open  into  the  two  broad  sounds  known  as  Pamlico  and 
Albemarle,  and  which  are  protected  from  the  turbulence  of  the  Atlantic 
by  the  long  ridge  of  sand  which  terminates  at  Cape  Hatteras.  While  the 
capture  of  the  Hatteras  forts  had  given  the  Union  authorities  control  of 
Hatteras  Inlet,  the  chief  entrance  to  the  sounds,  yet  the  long,  narrow  island 
was  broken  by  other  lesser  inlets  of  a  size  sufficient  to  permit  the  passage 
of  light-draught  steamers.  The  Confederates  had  quite  a  fleet  of  swift, 
light  vessels  of  insignificant  armament,  often  only  a  single  gun,  with  which 
they  occasionally  made  a  descent  upon  some  coaster  or  merchantman, 
running  close  inshore,  and  dragged  her  in  as  a  prize.  With  these  swift 
steamers,  too,  they  effectually  controlled  all  navigation  of  the  sounds.  But 
the  greatest  advantage  that  they  derived  from  their  control  of  the  sounds 
was  the  vast  facilities  given  them  for  constructing,  at  their  leisure,  powerful 
iron-clads  in  some  of  the  North  Carolina  ship-yards  ;  then  sending  them  to 
reduce  the  Hatteras  forts,  and  so  out  into  the  Atlantic  to  fight  for  the 
destruction  of  the  blockade.  All  these  conditions  were  clear  to  the  authori- 
ties of  the  Union  ;  and  therefore,  in  the  early  part  of  January,  1862,  a  joint 
military  and  naval  expedition  was  fitted  out  for  operation  against  the 
Confederate  works  and  steamers  in  these  inland  waters.  It  was  in  the 
early  days  of  the  war ;  and  the  flotilla  was  one  of  those  heterogeneous 
collections  of  remodelled  excursion-steamers,  tugs,  ferry-boats,  and  even 
canal-boats,  which  at  that  time  was  dignified  with  the  title  of  "the  fleet." 
In  fitting  out  this  expedition  two  very  conflicting  requirements  were  fol- 


58  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

lowed.  In  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  the  channel  at  Hatteras  Inlet 
is  seldom  over  seven  and  a  half  feet :  consequently  the  vessels  must  be  of 
light  draught.  But  the  Confederate  steamers  in  the  sounds  carried  heavy 
rifled  cannon,  and  the  armament  of  the  forts  on  Roanoke  Island  was 
of  the  heaviest :  therefore,  the  vessels  must  carry  heavy  guns  to  be  able  to 
cope  with  the  enemy.  This  attempt  to  put  a  heavy  armament  on  the  gun- 
deck  made  the  vessels  roll  so  heavily  as  to  be  almost  unseaworthy. 

In  addition  to  the  armed  vessels  belonging  to  the  navy,  a  number  of 
transports  accompanied  the  expedition,  bearing  the  army  corps  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Burnside ;  and  the  whole  number  of  craft  finally  assem- 
bled for  the  subjugation  of  the  North  Carolina  sounds  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty.  This  heterogeneous  assemblage  of  vessels  was  sent  on  a 
voyage  in  the  dead  of  winter,  down  a  dangerous  coast,  to  one  of  the 
stormiest  points  known  to  the  mariner.  Hatteras  was  true  to  its  reputa- 
tion ;  and,  when  the  squadron  reached  the  inlet,  a  furious  north-easter  was 
blowing,  sending  the  gray  clouds  scudding  across  the  sky,  arid  making  the 
heavy  rollers  break  on  the  beach  and  the  bar  in  a  way  that  foretold  certain 
destruction,  should  any  hardy  pilot  attempt  to  run  his  ship  into  the  narrow 
and  crooked  inlet.  Outside  there  was  no  safe  anchorage,  and  the  situa- 
tion of  the  entire  squadron  was  most  precarious.  Several  serious  mishaps 
occurred  before  the  vessels  got  into  the  small  and  altogether  insufficient 
harbor  between  the  seaward  bar  and  the  "bulkhead"  or  inner  bar.  The 
first  vessel  to  come  to  grief  was  one  of  the  canal-boats  laden  with  hay,  oats, 
and  other  stores.  She  was  without  any  motive  power,  being  towed  by  a 
steam-tug,  and,  getting  into  the  trough  of  the  sea,  rolled  and  sheered  so 
that  she  could  not  be  towed.  The  heavy  rolling  started  her  seams,  and  it 
was  soon  evident  that  she  was  sinking.  With  the  greatest  caution  a  boat 
was  lowered  from  one  of  the  steamers,  and  put  off  to  rescue  the  crew  of 
the  foundering  craft.  Laboriously  the  sailors  worked  their  way  through  the 
tossing  sea  to  the  lee  side  of  the  "  Grape-shot,"  and  after  much  difficulty 
succeeded  in  taking  off  all  on  board,  and  the  return  trip  was  commenced. 
All  went  well  until  the  boat  came  under  the  lee  of  the  steamer,  and  the 
men  were  about  to  clamber  up  the  sides.  Suddenly  an  immense  sea  lifted 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  59 


the  vessel  high  in  the  air ;  and  in  an  instant  the  boat  was  swamped,  and  the 
men  were  struggling  in  the  icy  water.  All.  were  ultimately  saved,  but  it 
was  with  the  greatest  difficulty.  The  "  Grape-shot,"  left  to  her  fate,  went 
ashore  some  fourteen  miles  above  Hatteras.  Her  cargo  served  some  practi- 
cal use,  after  all ;  for  some  horses  from  the  wreck  of  the  "  Pocahontas  " 
managed  to  reach  the  shore,  and  kept  themselves  alive  by  munching  the 
water-soaked  hay  and  oats. 

The  "  Pocahontas "  was  one  of  the  steamers  chartered  by  the  war 
department  as  a  horse  transport.  Her  actions  during  this  gale  furnish 
a  fair  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Government  was  often 
deluded  into  purchasing  almost  valueless  ships.  She  started  with  the 
Burnside  expedition  from  Hampton  Roads,  freighted  with  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  horses.  As  soon  as  the  gale  off  Hatteras  came  on,  she  began 
to  show  signs  of  unseaworthiness.  First  the  boilers  gave  way,  loosened 
from  their  places  by  the  heavy  rolling  of  the  ship.  All  progress  had  to 
be  stopped  until  they  were  patched  up.  Then  down  fell  the  grates, 
extinguishing  the  fires.  Then  the  steering-gear  was  broken  ;  and,  getting 
into  the  trough  of  the  sea,  she  rolled  until  her  smoke-stack  broke  its 
moorings  and  fell  over.  Finally  she  sprung  a  leak  and  was  run  ashore. 
The  crew  were  all  saved,  but  for  a  long  time  their  chances  for  life  seemed 
small  indeed.  Ninety  of  the  horses  were  lost,  some  having  been  thrown 
overboard  ten  miles  from  the  land.  Others  were  left  tied  in  their  stalls, 
to  perish  when  the  ship  went  to  pieces  in  the  breakers.  Those  that  were 
thrown  overboard  near  the  beach  swam  ashore  through  breakers  in  which 
no  boat  nor  man  could  live,  and,  finding  the  waste  and  wreckage  from  the 
cargo  of  the  "  Grape-shot,"  lived  for  days  on  the  hay  and  oats,  soaked  with 
sea-water  though  they  were. 

For  two  days  this  gale  continued.  The  out-look  for  the  fleet  seemed 
hopeless.  The  inner  bar  of  the  harbor  was  absolutely  impassable.  Between 
the  outer  bar  and  the  inner  were  packed  seventy  vessels.  This  space, 
though  called  a  harbor,  was  almost  unsheltered.  Crowded  with  vessels  as 
it  was,  it  made  an  anchorage  only  less  dangerous  than  that  outside. 
Although  the  vessels  were  anchored,  bow  and  stern,  the  violence  of  the 


60  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


sea  was  such  that  they  frequently  crashed  into  each  other,  breaking 
bulwarks,  spars,  and  wheel-houses,  and  tearing  away  standing-rigging.  A 
schooner  breaking  from  its  anchorage  went  tossing  and  twirling  through 
the  fleet,  crashing  into  vessel  after  vessel,  until  finally,  getting  foul  of  a 
small  steamer,  dragged  it  from  its  moorings ;  and  the  two  began  a  waltz 
in  the  crowded  harbor,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  surrounding  craft. 
At  last  the  two  runaways  went  aground  on  a  shoal,  and  pounded  away  there 
until  every  seam  was  open,  and  the  holds  filled  with  water. 

A  strange  mishap  was  that  which  befell  the  gunboat  "  Zouave."  She 
was  riding  safely  at  anchor,  remote  from  other  ships,  taking  the  seas  nobly, 
and  apparently  in  no  possible  danger.  Her  crew  occupied  themselves  in 
going  to  the  assistance  of  those  in  the  distressed  vessels,  feeling  that  their 
own  was  perfectly  safe.  But  during  the  night,  the  tide  being  out,  the 
vessel  was  driven  against  one  of  the  flukes  of  her  own  anchor;  and  as  each 
wave  lifted  her  up  and  dropped  her  heavily  on  the  sharp  iron,  a  hole  was 
stove  in  her  bottom,  sinking  her  so  quickly  that  the  crew  took  to  the  boats, 
saving  nothing. 

But  the  most  serious  disaster  was  the  total  wreck  of  the  "  City  of  New 
York,"  a  large  transport,  with  a  cargo  of  ordnance  stores  valued  at  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  Unable  to  enter  the  inlet,  she  tried  to  ride  out 
the  gale  outside.  The  tremendous  sea,  and  the  wind  blowing  furiously  on 
shore,  caused  her  to  drag  her  anchors ;  and  those  on  board  saw  certain  death 
staring  them  in  the  face,  as  hour  by  hour  the  ship  drifted  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  tumbling  mass  of  mighty  breakers,  that  with  an  unceasing  roar, 
and  white  foam  gleaming  like  the  teeth  of  an  enraged  lion,  broke  heavily 
on  the  sand.  She  struck  on  Monday  afternoon,  and  soon  swung  around, 
broadside  to  the  sea,  so  as  to  be  helpless  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  breakers. 
Every  wave  broke  over  her  decks.  The  condition  of  her  crew  was  frightful. 
In  the  dead  of  winter,  the  wind  keen  as  a  razor,  and  the  waves  of  icy 
coldness,  the  body  soon  became  benumbed  ;  and  it  was  with  the  greatest 
effort  that  the  men  could  cling  to  the  rigging.  So  great  was  the  fury  of 
the  wind  and  waves,  that  no  assistance  could  be  given  her.  For  a  boat  to 
venture  into  that  seething  caldron  of  breakers  would  have  been  throwing 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  6 1 

away  lives.  So  the  crew  of  the  doomed  ship  were  left  to  save  themselves  as 
best  they  might.  The  night  passed  away,  and  Tuesday  morning  saw  the 
gale  still  blowing  with  unabated  force.  Hoping  to  lessen  the  strain  on 
the  hull,  they  cut  away  the  foremast.  In  falling,  it  tore  away  the  pipes, 
and  the  vessel  became  a  perfect  wreck.  Numbed  with  cold,  and  faint  for 
lack  of  food,  the  crew  lashed  themselves  to  the  bulwarks  and  rigging ;  and 
so,  drenched  by  the  icy  spray,  and  chilled  through  by  the  wind,  they  spent 
another  fearful  night.  The  next  day  the  fury  of  the  storm  seemed  to  have 
somewhat  abated.  The  sea  was  still  running  high,  and  breaking  over  the 
almost  unrecognizable  hulk  stranded  on  the  beach.  With  the  aid  of  a  glass, 
sailors  on  the  other  ships  could  see  the  inanimate  forms  of  the  crew  lashed 
to  the  rigging.  It  was  determined  to  make  a  vigorous  attempt  to  save 
them.  The  first  boat  sent  out  on  the  errand  of  mercy  was  watched  eagerly 
from  all  the  vessels.  Now  it  would  be  seen  raised  high  on  the  top  of  some 
tremendous  wave,  then,  plunging  into  the  trough,  it  would  be  lost  from  the 
view  of  the  anxious  watchers.  All  went  well  until  the  boat  reached  the 
outermost  line  of  the  breakers,  when  suddenly  a  towering  wave,  rushing 
resistlessly  along,  broke  directly  over  the  stern,  swamping  the  boat,  and 
drowning  seven  of  the  crew.  Again  the  last  hope  seemed  lost  to  the 
exhausted  men  on  the  wreck.  But  later  in  the  day,  the  sea  having  gone 
down  somewhat,  a  steam-tug  succeeded  in  reaching  the  wreck  and  rescuing 
the  crew.  The  second  engineer  was  the  last  man  to  leave  the  ship.  He 
remained  lashed  to  the  mast  until  all  were  taken  on  the  tug.  Then, 
climbing  to  the  top-mast,  he  cut  down  the  flag  that  had  waved  during  those 
two  wild  days  and  nights,  and  bore  it  safely  away. 

After  this  gale  died  away,  the  work  of  getting  the  squadron  over  the 
inner  bar  was  begun.  It  was  a  tremendous  task.  Many  of  the  ships  drew 
too  much  water  for  the  shallow  channel,  and  it  was  necessary  to  remove 
large  parts  of  their  cargoes.  The  bar,  which  is  known  as  Buckhead  Shoal, 
was  an  expanse  of  quicksand  a  mile  wide,  with  a  tortuous  channel  ever 
changing  with  the  shifting  sands.  Many  of  the  ships  stranded,  and  the 
tugs  were  constantly  busy  in  towing  them  off.  Scarcely  would  one  be 
safely  afloat,  than  another  would  "bring  up  all  standing"  on  some  new- 


62  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 

shoal.  Two  weeks  elapsed  before  all  the  vessels  were  safe  within  the 
landlocked  sound.  They  were  none  too  soon  ;  for  hardly  had  the  last  vessel 
crossed  the  bar,  than  the  black  gathering  clouds,  the  murky,  tossing  sea,  and 
the  foaming  billows  breaking  on  the  bar,  foretold  another  of  the  storms  for 
which  Cape  Hatteras  is  famed.  Through  the  storm  a  queer-looking  craft 
was  seen  approaching  the  fleet.  It  was  found  to  be  a  boat-load  of  escap- 
ing slaves,  who  had  put  to  sea  at  random,  feeling  sure  of  finding  "de 
Yankees  "  somewhere.  From  these  men  much  valuable  information  was 
obtained. 

Up  to  this  time  no  one  in  the  fleet,  excepting  the  superior  officers, 
was  informed  as  to  the  exact  destination  of  the  expedition.  Now  as  the 
signal  to  get  under  way  blew  out  from  the  foremast  of  the  flag-ship,  and 
as  the  prow  of  the  leading  vessel  was  turned  to  the  northward,  all  knew, 
and  all  cried,  "  Roanoke  Island."  This  island  was  heavily  fortified  by  the 
Confederates,  and  from  its  position  was  a  point  of  considerable  strategic 
importance.  It  guards  the  entrance  to  Pamlico  Sound  from  Albemarle 
Sound,  and  into  Pamlico  Sound  open  great  bays  and  rivers  that  penetrate 
far  into  the  interior  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  On  this  island  the 
Confederates  had  erected  three  forts  of  formidable  strength.  These  forts 
commanded  the  channel  through  which  the  vessels  would  have  to  pass  ;  and 
to  make  the  task  doubly  dangerous,  the  channel  was  obstructed  with 
sharpened  piles  and  sunken  hulks,  so  as  to  be  apparently  impassable. 
Beyond  the  obstructions  was  the  Confederate  fleet,  which,  though  insignifi- 
cant compared  with  the  attacking  squadron,  was  formidable  in  connection 
with  the  forts.  It  was  the  task  of  the  invaders  to  capture  these  forts,  and 
destroy  the  fleet. 

It  was  on  Feb.  5  that  the  squadron  prepared  to  leave  its  moorings  at 
Hatteras  Inlet.  It  was  an  imposing  spectacle.  The  flag-ship  "  Philadel- 
phia" led  the  naval  squadron,  which  advanced  with  the  precision  of  a  body 
of  troops.  Behind,  with  less  regularity,  came  the  army  transports.  About 
one  hundred  vessels  were  in  the  three  columns  that  moved  over  the  placid 
waters  of  the  sound  toward  the  forts.  It  was  five  in  the  afternoon  of  a 
short  February  day  that  the  fleet  came  in  sight  of  the  forts.  Signals  were 


CONTRABANDS  ESCAPING  TO  FLEET. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  65 


made  for  th.e  squadron  to  form  in  a  circle  about  the  flag-ship.  The  early 
darkness  of  winter  had  fallen  upon  the  scene.  The  waters  of  the  sound 
were  smooth  as  a  mill-pond.  From  the  white  cottages  on  the  shore 
gleamed  lights,  and  brilliant  signal-lanterns  hung  in  the  rigging  of  the 
ships.  Through  the  fleet  pulled  swift  gigs  bearing  the  commanders  of 
the  different  vessels. 

The  morning  dawned  dark  and  rainy.  At  first  it  was  thought  that  the 
fog  and  mist  would  prevent  the  bombardment,  but  all  doubt  was  put  at  an 
end  by  the  signal,  "  Prepare  for  action,"  from  the  flag-ship.  The  drums 
beat  to  quarters,  and  soon  the  guns  were  manned  by  sailors  stripped  to 
the  waist.  The  magazines  were  opened ;  and  the  surgeons  cleared  away 
the  cock-pits,  and  spread  out  their  glistening  instruments  ready  for  their 
work. 

The  fleet  got  under  way,  and  stood  up  the  channel  almost  to  the  point 
where  the  obstructions  were  planted.  Beyond  these  were  the  gunboats  of 
the  enemy.  The  cannonade  was  begun  without  loss  of  time.  A  portion 
of  the  fleet  began  a  vigorous  fire  upon  the  Confederate  gunboats,  while  the 
others  attacked  the  forts.  The  gunboats  were  soon  driven  away,  and  then 
the  forts  received  the  entire  fire.  The  water  was  calm,  and  the  aim  of  the 
gunners  was  admirable.  The  forts  could  hardly  respond  to  the  fire,  since 
the  great  shells,  plunging  by  hundreds  into  the  trenches,  drove  the  men 
from  their  guns  into  the  bomb-proof  casemates.  The  officers  of  the  ships 
could  watch  with  their  glasses  the  effect  of  every  shell,  and  by  their 
directions  the  aim  of  the  gunners  was  made  nearly  perfect. 

While  the  bombarding  was  going  on,  Gen.  Burnside  set  about  landing 
his  troops  near  the  southern  end  of  the  island.  The  first  boat  was  fired 
upon  by  soldiers  concealed  in  the  woods.  The  "Delaware"  instantly 
pitched  a  few  shells  into  the  woods  from  which  the  firing  proceeded,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  the  enemy  could  be  seen  running  out  like  rats  from  a  burn- 
ing granary.  The  landing  then  went  on  unimpeded.  The  boats  were 
unable  to  get  up  to  the  bank,  owing  to  shoal  water ;  and  the  soldiers  were 
obliged  to  wade  ashore  in  the  icy  water,  waist-deep,  and  sinking  a  foot  more 
in  the  soft  mud  of  the  bottom. 


66  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 


The  bombardment  was  continued  for  some  hours  after  nightfall.  A 
night  bombardment  is  a  stirring  scene.  The  passionate  and  spiteful  glare 
of  the  cannon-flashes ;  the  unceasing  roar  of  the  explosions  ;  the  demoniac 
shriek  of  the  shells  in  the  air,  followed  by  their  explosion  with  a  lightning 
flash,  and  crash  like  thunder ;  the  volumes  of  gray  smoke  rising  upon  the 
dark  air,  —  make  up  a  wonderful  and  memorable  sight. 

In  the  morning  the  bombardment  was  recommenced,  and  the  work  of 
landing  troops  went  on.  Eight  gunboats  were  sent  to  tear  away  the 
obstructions  in  the  channel ;  and  there  beneath  the  guns  of  the  enemy's 
fleet,  and  the  frowning  cannon  of  the  forts,  the  sailors  worked  with  axe 
and  ketch  until  the  barricade  was  broken,  and  the  eight  ships  passed  to 
the  sound  above  the  forts.  In  the  mean  time,  the  troops  on  the  island 
began  the  march  against  the  forts.  There  were  few  paths,  and  they  groped 
their  way  through  woods  and  undergrowth,  wading  through  morasses,  and 
tearing  their  way  through  tangled  thickets  to  get  at  the  enemy's  front. 
The  advance  was  slow,  but  steady,  until  the  open  field  before  the  forts  was 
reached  ;  then  a  change  was  ordered,  led  by  the  famous  Hawkins  Zouaves, 
who  rushed  madly  upon  the  fort,  shouting  their  war  cry  of  Zou,  zou,  son! 
Like  a  resistless  flood  the  attackers  poured  over  the  earthworks,  and  the 
frightened  defenders  fled.  Before  five  o'clock  the  entire  island  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  troops,  and  the  fleet  had  passed  the  barricade.  During 
the  bombardment  the  vessels  sustained  severe  injuries.  An  act  of  heroism, 
which  made  the  hero  celebrated  was  that  of  John  Davis,  gunner's  mate  on 
board  the  "Valley  City."  A  shell  entered  the  magazine  of  that  ship,  and 
exploded,  setting  the  wood-work  on  fire.  An  open  barrel  of  gunpowder 
stood  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  with  sparks  dropping  about  it.  At  any 
moment  an  explosion  might  occur  which  would  shatter  the  vessel  to 
fragments.  Men  shrank  back,  expecting  every  moment  to  be  their  last. 
With  wonderful  presence  of  mind  Davis  threw  himself  across  the  open  end 
of  the  barrel,  and  with  his  body  covered  the  dangerous  explosive  until  the 
fire  was  put  out. 

As  soon  as  the  stars  and  stripes  were  hoisted  on  the  flagstaffs  of  the 
forts,  the  Confederate  fleet,  which  had  been  maintaining  a  desultory  firer 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  67 


fled  up  the  sound,  after  setting  fire  to  one  schooner  which  had  become  hope- 
lessly crippled  in  the  battle.  She  blazed  away  far  on  into  the  night,  and 
finally,  when  the  flames  reached  her  magazine,  blew  up  with  a  tremendous 
report,  seeming  like  a  final  involuntary  salute  paid  by  the  defeated  enemy 
to  the  prowess  of  the  Union  arms.  When  quiet  finally  settled  down  upon 
the  scene,  and  Gen.  Burnside  and  Commander  Goldsborough  counted  up 
their  gains,  they  found  that  six  forts,  twenty-five  hundred  prisoners,  and 
forty-two  great  guns  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  victors.  The  Union 
loss  was  forty  killed  and  two  hundred  wounded. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  It  was  considered  highly  important  that  the 
success  of  the  day  before  should  be  vigorously  followed  up ;  and  an  expedi- 
tion of  fourteen  vessels,  under  Capt.  Rowan,  was  ordered  to  follow  the 
retreating  Confederate  fleet  and  destroy  it.  The  flying  squadron  was 
chased  as  far  as  Elizabeth  City  on  the  Pasquotauk  River.  Here  night  over- 
took the  pursuers ;  and  they  came  to  anchor  at  the  mouth  of  the  stream, 
effectually  cutting  off  all  hope  of  retreat.  The  Confederates  in  the  vessels 
lying  off  the  town  passed  an  anxious  night.  Outnumbered  two  to  one  by 
the  pursuing  vessels,  they  saw  no  hope  of  a  successful  resistance.  With  a 
courage  which  in  view  of  the  facts  seems  to  be  almost  foolhardy,  they 
determined  to  stick  to  their  ships,  and  fight  to  the  death.  The  feelings  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  hardly  less  gloomy.  So  thoroughly 
impregnable  had  they  considered  the  forts  at  Roanoke  Island,  that  they 
had  made  absolutely  no  preparations  for  defence ;  and  now  they  found  their 
homes  upon  the  eve  of  capture.  The  victorious  army  had  .not  yet  had  an 
opportunity  to  show,4:he  merciful  way  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  captured 
cities  were  treated  throughout  the  war ;  and  the  good  people  of  Elizabeth 
City  may  be  excused  for  fearing,  that,  with  the  destruction  of  their  fleet, 
they  were  to  be  delivered  into  the  merciless  hands  of  a  lawless  enemy. 

Morning  dawned  bright  and  clear.  With  the  greatest  deliberation  the 
preparations  for  action  were  made  on  the  attacking  vessels.  It  was 
discovered,  that,  owing  to  the  continuous  firing  during  the  Roanoke  Island 
engagement,  but  twenty  rounds  of  ammunition  per  gun  were  left  to  each 
vessel.  It  was  accordingly  ordered  that  no  long-distance  firing  should  be 


68  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


done ;  but  each  vessel  should  dash  at  the  enemy,  run  him  down  if  possible, 
and  then  board  and  fight  it  out,  hand  to  hand.  Early  in  the  morning  the 
fleet  started  up  the  river.  The  enemy's  fleet  was  soon  sighted,  lying 
behind  the  guns  of  a  small  battery  on  Cobb's  Point.  When  within  long 
range,  battery  and  vessels  opened  a  tremendous  fire  with  eighty-pound 
rifles.  The  approach  of  the'  squadron  continued  until  when  within  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  the  signal  was  flung  out  from  the  mast  of  the  flag- 
ship, "Dash  at  the  enemy."  Then  full  speed  was  put  on,  and  firing 
commenced  from  bow-guns.  The  Confederates  became  totally  demoralized. 
The  battery  was  abandoned  when  the  first  vessel  poured  her  broadside 
into  it  as  she  passed.  Before  the  enemy's  fleet  was  reached,  many  of  his 
vessels  were  fired  and  abandoned.  The  United  States  steamship  "  Perry  " 
struck  the  "  Sea-Bird  "  amidships,  sinking  her  so  quickly  that  the  crew  had 
scarce  time  to  escape.  The  crew  of  the  "  Delaware  "  boarded  the  "  Fanny," 
sabering  and  shooting  her  defenders  until  they  fled  over  the  side  into  the 
water.  The  victory  was  complete  and  overwhelming.  Three  or  four  of 
the  victorious  vessels  at  once  proceeded  to  the  town,  where  they  found 
the  enemy  in  full  retreat  and  compelling  the  inhabitants  to  set  fire  to 
their  houses.  This  was  quickly  stopped,  and  the  invaders  became  the 
protectors  of  the  conquered  people. 

The  power  of  the  Confederates  in  this  part  of  the  country  being  so 
effectually  destroyed,  the  navy  was  divided  into  small  detachments  and 
sent  cruising  up  the  lagoons  and  rivers  opening  into  the  North  Carolina 
sounds,  merely  to  show  the  people  the  power  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, and  to  urge  them  to  cease  their  resistance  to  its  authority.  Three 
vessels  were  sent  to  Edenton.  As  they  came  abreast  of  the  village,  a 
company  of  mounted  artillery  precipitately  fled.  A  detachment  of  marines 
sent  ashore  found  a  number  of  cannon  which  they  destroyed,  and  a  nearly 
completed  schooner  to  which  they  set  fire.  Other  small  places  were 
visited,  generally  without  any  opposition  being  encountered. 

A  somewhat  larger  force  was  sent  to  a  small  town  named  Winton,  as 
it  had  been  rumored  that  a  force  of  Union  men  were  there  disputing  the 
authority  of  the  Confederate  Government,  and  the  navy  wished  to  go  to 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  69 


their  assistance.  The  "Delaware"  and  "Hudson,"  in  advance  of  the 
squadron,  came  within  sight  of  the  landing  and  warehouses  of  Winton 
about  four  in  the  afternoon.  The  town  itself  was  hidden  from  the  view 
of  the  vessels  by  a  high  bluff,  It  was  a  clear,  quiet  afternoon,  and  all 
seemed  peaceful.  The  long  wharf,  running  out  into  the  stream,  was 
•deserted  by  all  save  a  negro  woman,  who,  roused  from  her  occupation  of 
fishing,  gazed  inquisitively  at  the  strange  vessels.  The  place  looked  like 
a  commercial  port  going  to  seed  on  account  of  the  blockade.  The  two 
vessels  proceeded  on  their  way  unmolested,  ranging  past  the  wharf,  and 
apprehending  no  danger.  Suddenly  from  the  woods  on  the  bluff  a  terrific 
fire  was  poured  upon  the  vessels.  The  negress,  having  served  her  end  as 
a  decoy,  fled  hastily  to  shelter.  The  bluffs  seemed  to  be  held  by  two 
batteries  of  light  artillery  and  a  considerable  force  of  armed  men.  Fortu- 
nately the  aim  of  the  artillery  men  was  bad,  and  the  vessels  sustained  no 
severe  damage.  Still,  they  were  in  a  precarious  position.  The  "Delaware" 
was  too  near  to  bring  her  battery  to  bear,  and  was  obliged  to  turn  slowly 
in  the  narrow  channel.  The  "  Perry,"  more  fortunately  situated,  opened 
at  once  on  the  enemy  with  shrapnel.  But  the  contest  was  unequal,  and 
the  two  vessels  were  forced  to  retreat  down  the  river  about  seven  miles, 
there  to  await  the  remainder  of  the  squadron. 

Two  days  after,  the  flotilla  began  the  advance  up  the  river,  shelling  the 
town  as  they  ascended.  Once  opposite  the  town,  the  troops  were  landed, 
and  the  Hawkins  Zouaves  soon  had  possession  of  the  bluff  and  town. 
Knapsacks,  ammunition,  and  muskets  in  considerable  quantity  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  victors ;  and,  after  burning  the  barracks  of  the  enemy, 
the  squadron  returned  to  the  base  of  operations  at  Roanoke  Island. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


REDUCTION    OF    NEWBERN.  —  EXPLOITS    OF    LIEUT.    GUSHING.  —  DESTRUCTION 
OF    THE    RAM    "ALBEMARLE." 


FTER  the  destruction  of  the  Confederate  flotilla  at  Elizabeth 
City,  and  the  affair  at  Winton,  the  Union  fleet  remained  quietly 
at  anchor  off  Roanoke  Island,  or  made  short  excursions  up  the 
little  rivers  emptying  into  the  sounds.  Over  a  month  passed  in 
comparative  inaction,  as  the  ships  were  awaiting  supplies  and  particularly 
ammunition.  When  finally  the  transports  from  New  York  arrived,  and 
the  magazines  of  the  war-vessels  were  filled  with  shot  and  shell  and  gun- 
powder, they  again  turned  their  attention  to  the  enemy.  The  victories 
already  won  had  almost  driven  the  Confederates  from  that  part  of  North 
Carolina  which  borders  on  the  sounds.  Roanoke  Island,  Elizabeth  City, 
Edenton,  and  Plymouth  had  one  after  the  other  yielded  to  the  persuasive 
eloquence  of  the  ship's  cannon,  and  there  was  left  to  the  Confederates  only 
one  fort,  —  Newbern,  on  the  River  Neuse.  As  a  city  Nevvbern  is  insignifi- 
cant ;  but  as  a  military  post  it  was  of  a  good  deal  of  importance,  and  the 
Confederates  had  made  active  preparations  for  its  defence. 

It  was  on  the   I2th  of  March,    1862,  that   Commander  Rowan   started 
from  Hatteras  Inlet  with  a  flotilla  of  thirteen  vessels,  and  army  transports 

bearing  three  thousand  men.     The  long  column  steamed  down  the  placid 

70 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  71 

waters  of  Pamlico  Sound,  and,  turning  into  the  Neuse  River,  anchored 
about  fifteen  miles  below  the  city.  Although  the  night  before  the  battle, 
and  within  sight  of  the  white  steeples  of  the  menaced  city,  all  was  quiet 
and  peaceful.  The  banks  of  the  broad  stream  were  densely  wooded,  and 
from  them  could  be  heard  at  times  the  cry  of  the  whip-poor-will,  or  the 
hoot  of  the  night-owl.  The  vessels  were  anchored  far  out  in  the  middle 
of  the  stream,  so  as  to  avoid  the  deadly  bullets  of  any  lurking  sharp-shooters. 
The  look-outs  kept  a  close  watch  for  floating  torpedoes ;  while  the  sailors 
off  duty  spun  their  yarns  in  the  forecastle,  and  bet  pipes  and  tobacco  on 
the  result  of  the  coming  battle.  The  jolly  tars  of  the  Burnside  expedition 
had  hardly  yet  learned  that  war  was  a  serious  matter.  They  had  met  with 
but  little  serious  resistance,  had  captured  powerful  forts  without  losing 
a  man,  had  chased  and  destroyed  the  Confederate  fleet  without  any  serious 
damage  to  their  own,  and  felt,  accordingly,  that  war  was  a  game  in  which 
it  was  their  part  always  to  win,  and  the  part  of  the  enemy  to  run  away. 
Certainly  the  fight  at  Newbern  did  nothing  to  dispel  this  idea. 

When  morning  broke,  the  shrill  piping  of  the  boatswain's  whistle 
brought  the  crew  to  their  places  on  deck.  Breakfast  was  served,  and 
leisurely  eaten  ;  for  it  is  one  of  the  established  theories  of  the  navy,  that 
sailors  can't  fight  on  empty  stomachs.  Breakfast  over,  the  work  of  landing 
the  troops  was  begun.  The  point  chosen  was  a  broad  beach  fringed  with 
woods  near  the  anchorage  of  the  vessels.  Before  landing  the  troops,  the 
ships  threw  a  few  shells  into  the  woods,  to  make  certain  that  they  con- 
cealed no  ambuscade,  as  in  the  disastrous  affair  at  Matthias  Point.  After 
two  dozen  shells  had  burst,  mowing  down  trees,  and  driving  out  frightened 
animals  in  plenty,  but  no  sharp-shooters,  the  long-boats  put  off  from  the 
transports  bearing  the  soldiers  for  the  land  attack.  As  soon  as  six  or  seven 
hundred  were  landed,  they  formed  in  column,  and  moved  rapidly  up  the 
beach.  The  others  followed  as  rapidly  as  they  could  be  put  on  shore. 
The  gunboats  steamed  slowly  up  the  river,  keeping  abreast  of  the  troops, 
and  throwing  shells  into  the  woods  ahead  of  the  attacking  column.  Had 
any  Confederates  prepared  to  resist  the  march,  they  must  have  been  driven 
out  of  the  forest  before  the  Federals  came  within  musket-range.  Not  an 


72  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   »6i. 


atom  of  resistance  was  made.  The  plans  of  the  invaders  seemed  irresisti- 
ble. About  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon,  a  puff  of  smoke  rose  from  the 
river-bank  far  ahead  of  the  leading  vessel,  and  in  a  few  seconds  a  heavy 
shell  plunged  into  the  water  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  the  flotilla.  The 
enemy  was  getting  awake  to  the  situation.  The  gunboats  soon  returned 
the  fire,  and  the  cannonading  was  continued  at  long  range,  without  damage 
to  either  side,  until  sundown,  when  the  troops  went  into  camp,  and  the 
vessels  chose  an  anchorage  near  by. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning,  the  advance  was  resumed.  The  day  was 
so  foggy  that  the  usual  signals  between  the  vessels  could  not  be  seen,  and 
orders  from  the  flag-ship  had  to  be  carried  by  boat.  The  fleet  proceeded  up 
the  river;  and,  when  the  fog  lifted,  the  ramparts  of  Fort  Dixie  —  the  one 
that  had  fired  on  them  the  night  before  —  were  visible.  A  vigorous  bom- 
bardment was  at  once  begun  ;  but  the  fort  failed  to  reply,  and  a  storming- 
party  sent  ashore  found  it  empty.  Hoisting  the  stars  and  stripes  above 
the  deserted  bastions,  the  ships  went  on.  Soon  they  reached  Fort  Ellis. 
Here  the  firing  was  sharp  on  both  sides.  The  fort  was  a  powerful  earth- 
work, well  armed  with  rifles  ranging  from  thirty-two  to  eighty  pounders. 
The  Confederates  did  but  little  damage  with  their  guns ;  their  aim  being 
bad  for  want  of  practice,  and  their  powder  of  poor  quality.  Still,  they 
fought  on  with  great  courage  until  a  shell  from  the  "  Delaware  "  burst  in 
the  magazine,  firing  the  powder  there,  and  hurling  the  fort,  with  large 
numbers  of  its  brave  defenders,  high  in  the  air.  This  ended  the  fight  with 
Fort  Ellis,  and  the  fleet  continued  its  way  up  the  river. 

Shortly  after  passing  Fort  Ellis,  two  rows  of  obstructions  were  met  in. 
the  channel.  The  lower  barrier  was  composed  of  a  series  of  piles  driven 
into  the  river-bottom,  and  cut  off  below  the  water ;  back  of  these  came  a 
row  of  pointed  and  iron  tipped  piles  pointing  clown  stream  at  such  an 
angle  as  to  be  likely  to  pierce  the  hull  of  any  vessel  that  should  run  upon 
them.  Entwined  about  these  piles  was  a  cable  connecting  with  thirty 
powerful  torpedoes.  That  any  vessel  could  pierce  such  a  barrier  seems 
almost  incredible ;  yet  all  the  vessels  of  the  flotilla  passed,  and  but  two 
were  seriously  injured.  One  of  the  sharp  iron  piles  drove  through  the. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


73 


bottom  of  the  "  Barney,"  sending  the  crew  to  the  pumps,  and  the  carpenter 
down  into  the  hold  with  his  felt-covered  plugs.  But  her  damages  were 
quickly  repaired,  and  she  went  on  with  the  rest  of  the  fleet.  Right  under 
the  guns  of  Fort  Thompson  the  second  line  of  obstructions  was  encoun- 
tered. It  consisted  of  a  line  of  sunken  vessels  closely  massed,  and  a 
cheval-de-frise  of  stakes  and  logs,  that  blocked  the  entire  river,  save  a 
small  passage  close  in  shore  under  the  guns  of  the  battery.  Here  was 
more  hard  work  for  the  sailors ;  but  they  managed  to  creep  through,  and 
ranging  up  in  line,  broad- 
side to  Fort  Thompson, 
they  opened  a  vigorous 
cannonade  upon  that 
work.  The  condition  of 
the  garrison  of  the  fort 
was  desperate.  The 
troops  that  had  marched 
up  the  beach  abreast  of 
the  vessels  began  a  vig- 
orous attack  on  the  land- 
ward face  of  the  fort, 
while  the  vessels  in  the 
river  kept  up  a  vigorous 
fire  on  the  water-front. 
Soon  the  gunners  of  the  fort  were  called  away  from  the  river-front  to  meet 
the  hot  assault  of  the  soldiers  on  the  land  ;  and,  as  the  conflict  grew  close, 
the  ships  ceased  firing,  lest  their  shell  should  mow  down  foe  and  friend  alike. 
Leaving  the  enemy  to  the  attention  of  the  soldiery,  the  ships  proceeded 
up  the  river  past  two  deserted  forts  that  gave  no  answer  to  vigorous 
shelling.  Just  as  the  last  vessel  was  passing  Fort  Thompson,  the  attacking 
troops,  with  a  cheer,  rushed  upon  the  ramparts  ;  and  in  a  minute  the  stars 
and  stripes  were  fluttering  from  the  flagstaff.  This  was  the  last  resistance 
encountered,  and  at  two  P.M.  the  victors  were  in  full  possession  of  the  city. 
The  war-ships  sped  up  the  river  after  three  Confederate  steamers  that  were 


74  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

endeavoring  to  escape,  and  soon  captured  them.  One  was  run  ashore  and 
burned,  while  the  other  two  were  added  to  the  conquering  fleet.  As  a  last 
resort,  the  flying  enemy  sent  down  a  huge  fire-raft,  in  the  hope  of  burning 
some  of  the  Union  vessels  ;  but  this  was  stopped  by  the  piers  of  a  railroad 
bridge,  and,  burning  that,  effectually  cut  off  Newbern's  communication  with 
the  world.  During  the  entire  two  days'  engagement,  the  navy  did  not  lose 
a  man  on  the  ships.  Two  of  a  small  landing-party  were  killed,  and  eleven 
wounded ;  while  of  the  soldiers  there  were  killed  eighty-eight,  and  wounded 
three  hundred  and  fifty-two.  This  victory  gave  to  the  United  States 
the  entire  control  of  the  North  Carolina  sounds  and  tributary  navigable 
waters. 

For  years  after  this,  the  sounds  were  occupied  by  a  small  squadron  of  the 
United  States  navy,  mainly  blockading  cruisers.  It  was  during  these  three 
years  of  occupation  that  Lieut.  W.  B.  Cushing  performed  those  wonderfully 
daring  deeds  that  made  him  a  name  and  fame  apart  from  all  other  war- 
records.  These  feats  so  particularly  belong  to  Cushing's  record,  rather  than 
to  the  history  of  any  years  of  the  war,  that  they  may  well  be  considered 
together  here.  The  wonderful  exhibitions  of  daring  by  which  this  young 
officer  earned  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  a  commander,  while  still  hardly 
more  than  a  boy,  were  the  ascent  of  New  River  Inlet  in  the  steamer 
"Ellis,"  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  enemy's  salt-works,  and  a 
blockade-runner  at  New  Topsail  Inlet ;  and.  finally,  the  great  achievement 
of  his  life,  the  destruction  of  the  ram  "  Albemarle  "  in  the  Roanoke  River. 

Lieut.  Cushing  entered  the  navy  during  the  first  year  of  the  civil  war, 
being  himself  at  that  time  but  nineteen  years  old.  A  comrade  who  served 
with  him  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  the  "  Albemarle  "  describes  him 
as  about  six  feet  high,  very  slender,  with  a  smooth  face,  and  dark  wavy 
hair.  Immediately  upon  his  joining  the  navy,  he  was  assigned  to  duty 
with  the  blockading  squadron  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  He  distinguished 
himself  during  the  first  year  of  the  war,  at  a  time  when  the  opportunities  of 
the  service  were  not  very  brilliant,  by  unfailing  vigilance,  and  soon  won  for 
himself  the  honor  of  a  command.  In  November,  1862,  he  was  put  in 
command  of  the  steamer  "Ellis,"  and  ordered  to  preserve  the  blockade 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  75 

of  New  River  Inlet  on  the  North  Carolina  coast,  not  far  from  the  favorite 
port  of  the  blockade-runners,  Wilmington.  The  duties  of  a  blockading 
man-of-war  are  monotonous,  at  best.  Lying  at  anchor  off  the  mouth  of 
the  blockaded  harbor,  or  steaming  slowly  up  and  down  for  days  together, 
the  crew  grow  discontented  ;  and  the  officers  are  at  their  wits'  end  to  devise 
constant  occupation  to  dispel  the  turbulence  which  idleness  always  arouses 
among  sailors.  Inaction  is  the  great  enemy  of  discipline  on  board  ship, 
and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  the  metal  and  trimmings  aboard  a  man-of-war 
are  so  continually  being  polished.  A  big  brass  pivot-gun  amidships  will 
keep  three  or  four  jackies  polishing  an  hour  or  two  everyday;  and  petty 
officers  have  been  known  to  go  around  secretly,  and  deface  some  of  the 
snowy  wood-work  or  gleaming  brass,  when  it  seemed  that  surfaces  to  be 
polished  were  becoming  exhausted.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  set  a  gang 
of  sailors  to  work  rubbing  away  with  polish  on  the  flukes  of  the  great 
anchors,  merely  to  give  them  work.  But  while  this  sort  of  occupation  may 
drive  dull  care  away  from  the  heart  of  Jack,  his  officers  are  not  so  easily 
entertained  ;  and  the  dull  routine  of  blockading  duty  at  an  unfrequented  port 
is  most  wearisome  to  adventurous  spirits.  Particularly  was  this  the  case 
with  Lieut.  Gushing,  and  he  was  constantly  upon  the  look-out  for  some 
perilous  adventure.  One  day  late  in  November,  information  was  brought  to 
him  that  the  enemy  had  established  large  salt-works  at  Jacksonville,  thirty- 
five  miles  up  the  river.  Even  thus  early  in  the  war,  the  vigorous  blockade 
was  beginning  to  tell  upon  the  supplies  of  the  Confederates  ;  and  one  of 
the  articles  of  which  the  Southern  armies  were  in  the  greatest  need  was 
salt.  The  distress  caused  by  the  lack  of  it  was  great.  Many  of  the 
soldiers  were  in  the  habit  of  sprinkling  gunpowder  upon  their  food  to  give 
it  a  flavor  approaching  that  of  salt.  In  olden  days,  particularly  in  the 
British  navy  about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it  was  the  custom 
for  the  captains  to  issue  to  their  crews,  before  going  into  battle,  large  cups 
of  grog  with  gunpowder  stirred  in.  It  was  believed  that  this  mixture  made 
the  men  fight  more  desperately.  But  this  theory  of  the  doughty  sea-dogs 
of  past  generations  no  longer  finds  any  support,  and  doubtless  the  soldiers 
of  the  Confederacy  felt  they  could  fight  better  upon  salt  than  on  their 


7  6  .  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

enforced  seasoning  of  gunpowder.  At  Manassas  Junction,  when  the  Con- 
federate army  by  a  rapid  movement  captured  a  large  provision  train,  the 
rush  of  the  soldiers  for  two  or  three  cars  laden  with  salt  was  so  great  that 
a  strong  guard  had  to  be  stationed  to  beat  back  pilferers,  and  secure  a 
proper  division  of  the  much-prized  seasoning. 

The  officers  of  the  Union  navy  were  well  informed  of  this  scarcity  of 
salt  throughout  the  South,  and  accordingly  made  it  a  point  to  destroy 
all  salt-works  along  the  coast.  The  officers  of  the  Gulf  squadron  were 
constantly  employed  in  raiding  establishments  of  this  character,  of  which 
there  were  numbers  along  the  coast  of  Louisiana,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi. 
Gushing,  on  hearing  of  the  existence  of  salt-works  in  the  district  over 
which  he  stood  guard,  determined  to  destroy  them.  But  to  do  this  was 
a  matter  of  no  small  peril.  Jacksonville  was  thirty-five  miles  up  a  small 
stream,  in  the  heart  of  a  country  teeming,  with  Confederate  troops  and 
their  guerilla  sympathizers.  The  densely  wooded  shores  could  conceal 
sharp-shooters,  who  could  easily  pick  off  every  man  stationed  on  the 
steamer's  deck.  At  any  point  of  the  entire  distance  a  masked  battery 
might  be  stationed,  that  could  blow  the  invading  craft  out  of  water,  and 
leave  none  of  her  crew  uncaptured  to  tell  the  tale.  Nevertheless,  the 
intrepid  young  commander  determined  to  make  the  attempt.  His  vessel 
was  a  small  steamer,  mounting  one  heavy  gun  amidships  and  two  smaller 
cannon  on  each  side.  Without  any  mishap  the  "  Ellis "  and  her  crew 
reached  the  town  about  noon.  On  the  way  up  the  river  a  dense  column, 
of  black  smoke  appeared  ahead,  rising  above  the  forest.  All  thought  that 
the  Confederates,  hearing  of  their  approach,  had  evacuated  the  town,  firing 
it  as  they  retreated.  All  possible  steam  was  put  on,  and  the  little  gunboat 
dashed  up  the  river  in  the  hope  of  saving  some  of  the  property  of  the 
inhabitants.  But,  on  rounding  an  abrupt  curve  in  the  river,  the  mystery 
was  solved  by  the  appearance  of  a  fine  schooner,  loaded  with  cotton  and 
turpentine,  and  drifting  helplessly,  a  mass  of  crackling  flames,  down  the 
stream.  She  was  clearly  a  blockade-runner,  freighted  with  the  chief 
products  of  the  country,  and  had  been  waiting  a  chance  to  slip  out  past 
the  blockader,  and  run  for  some  friendly  port.  Cushing's  bold  move  up 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  77 


the  river  had  entrapped  her  neatly,  and  her  owners  had  fired  her  and  fled. 
The  fire  was  a  magnificent  sight.  The  inflammable  cargo,  the  tarry  ropes- 
and  cordage,  fed  the  flames,  which  leaped  from  hull  to  main-truck.  The 
cotton  burned  sullenly,  giving  forth  immense  clouds  of  dense,  black  smoke. 
To  save  her  was  hopeless,  and  the  "  Ellis "  kept  out  of  the  way  of  the 
flying  fire-brands  and  continued  on.  The  expected  salt-works  were  not 
found,  however;  and  the  only  trophies  to  be  obtained  at  the  town  were 
about  twenty-five  stand  of  arms  and  two  schooners,  evidently  blockade- 
runners.  The  post-office  was  also  visited,  and  a  large  mail  captured  and 
removed,  in  the  hope  of  finding  therein  some  valuable  information  regarding 
the  movements  of  the  enemy.  The  town  itself  was  one  of  the  sleepy 
little  Southern  villages,  with  wide  streets,  grass-grown  and  lined  with 
live-oaks.  Children,  and  boys  too  young  to  have  been  drafted  into  the 
Southern  army,  followed  the  sailors  and  marines  curiously  as  they  strolled 
up  and  down  the  silent  streets.  The  war  had  robbed  the  little  city  of  its 
men ;  the  blockade  had  robbed  it  of  its  little  coasting-trade.  Such  an 
air  of  quiet  and  desolation  hung  about  the  place,  that  the  inhabitants 
probably  welcomed  the  advent  of  even  the  hostile  sailors  as  being  some- 
thing to  break  the  monotony.  After  a  stoppage  of  an  hour  and  a  half, 
the  "  Ellis  "  started  down  the  river.  The  quiet  of  the  upward  voyage  had 
dispelled  any  thoughts  of  danger,  but  about  five  o'clock  suspicions  were 
re-awakened  by  the  sight  of  a  small  encampment  on  the  bank.  A  few- 
shells  thrown  over  the  tents  quickly  sent  the  campers  scurrying  into  the 
woods ;  and,  as  the  camps  seemed  to  have  no  artillery,  the  "  Ellis  "  continued 
without  further  hostilities.  A  short  distance  down  the  stream  the  Con- 
federates opened  upon  them  with  two  guns  mounted  on  a  lofty  bluff. 
Gushing,  ever  ready  for  a.  skirmish,  stopped  his  engine,  and  cleared  away 
the  big  pivot-gun  for  action.  The  battle-flag  was  hoisted  at  the  fore,  and 
the  crew,  with  three  cheers,  set  about  the  work.  About  an  hour  of  artillery 
practice  followed,  when,  the  enemy  being  driven  from  his  guns,  the  "  Ellis  " 
proceeded  on  her  way.  It  was  now  growing  dark,  and  the  tide  was  rapidly 
falling.  The  two  pilots  on  the  steamer  agreed  that  daylight  and  high  tide 
were  necessary  to  get  the  vessel  safely  out  of  the  river.  With  great 


7  8  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


reluctance  Gushing  ordered  the  anchor  to  be  let  fall,  and  proceeded  to 
make  preparations  for  the  night.  On  both  banks  of  the  river  could  be  seen 
the  flash  of  lanterns,  proving  that  the  Confederates  were  aware  of  the 
steamer's  presence,  and  were  contemplating  an  attack.  To  resist  such 
an  attack  if  made  in  force  during  the  night,  seemed  almost  hopeless ;  yet 
the  sailors  went  cheerfully  about  the  work  of  preparation,  getting  out 
cutlasses  and  revolvers,  and  putting  up  the  boarding-nettings  over  the 
sides.  In  watchful  anxiety  the  hours  wore  away.  No  sound  escaped 
the  vigilant  ear  of  the  men  on  duty.  But  the  enemy  evidently  had 
abandoned  the  attack,  and  when  morning  broke  none  were  to  be  seen. 
With  light  .hearts,  and  feeling  that  the  worst  was  past,  the  little  party 
continued  their  way,  only  to  find  that  the  worst  was  yet  to  come.  Soon 
after  daylight,  the  pilot,  mistaking  the  channel,  ran  the  ship  so  solidly 
aground  that  there  was  clearly  no  hope  of  extricating  her.  All  this  time 
she  had  been  towing  one  of  the  captured  schooners  ;  and  Gushing,  with 
quick  decisiveness,  ordered  that  every  thing  should  be  removed  from  the 
"  Ellis "  to  the  schooner.  This  was  quickly  done,  leaving  nothing  but 
the  great  pivot-gun  aboard. 

But  even  when  so  greatly  lightened,  the  ship  would  not  float,  and 
Gushing  saw  that  all  was  lost.  As  a  final  expedient  he  sent  a  boat's 
crew  back  after  the  cannon  that  the  enemy  had  abandoned  the  day  before, 
intending  to  construct  a  land-battery  with  them,  and  so  keep  his  ship.  But 
the  Confederates  had  already  removed  the  guns,  so  this  forlorn  hope  failed. 
Orders  were  then  given  for  the  crew  to  take  the  schooner,  and  drop  down 
the  river  for  a  mile  or  two.  The  young  captain  expressed  his  intention  of 
remaining  aboard  his  craft,  and  asked  for  six  volunteers  to  help  him  fight 
the  pivot-gun.  They  were  quickly  found ;  and,  while  the  remainder  of  the 
crew  dropped  down  the  river  in  the  schooner,  the  devoted  little  band  calmly 
awaited  the  beginning  of  the  attack.  They  did  not  have  long  to  wait. 
Soon  a  cannon  boomed  from  the  bank,  and  a  heavy  shell  whizzed  over  their 
heads.  Then  another,  from  another  direction,  and  a  third,  and  a  fourth, 
each  from  a  distinct  battery.  They  were  hopeless  odds,  yet  Gushing  and 
his  command  fought  on  until  the  gunners,  getting  the  range,  dropped  shot 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  79 

after  shot  into  the  doomed  vessel.  Then  fire  broke  out  in  three  or  four 
places.  This  was  too  much ;  and  the  seven  daring  men  took  to  a  small  boat, 
and  rowed  to  the  schooner.  First,  however,  they  loaded  the  long  gun,  and 
turned  it  on  the  enemy,  in  order,  as  Gushing  said,  "that  she  might  fight  for 
herself  when  we  could  do  so  no  longer."  Once  in  the  schooner,  they 
sailed  rapidly  down  the  river;  and  just  as  they  reached  the  sound  a  deep 
boom  announced  that  the  fire  had  reached  the  magazine,  and  the  "  Ellis  " 
was  blown  into  a  million  pieces.  Daring  as  this  adventure  was,  Gushing 
was  much  distressed  at  its  termination  ;  and  in  his  official  report  he  asks 
for  a  general  court  of  inquiry,  to  determine  whether  he  had  properly  upheld 
the  honor  of  the  nation's  flag. 

Another  daring  expedition  was  undertaken  by  Gushing  when  in  com- 
mand of  the  "Monticello."  This  was  in  February,  1864.  He  was  cruising 
off  Cape  Fear  River.  At  Smithville,  a  small  town  some  distance  up  the 
river,  was  a  Confederate  army-post.  Cushing's  plan  was  to  proceed  up 
the  river  in  row-boats,  burn  any  vessels  that  might  be  at  the  dock,  capture 
the  commanding  officers,  and  escape  before  the  enemy  could  recover 
from  the  surprise.  It  was  a  rash  and  rather  useless  expedition,  but 
Gushing  successfully  carried  it  out.  With  two  boats  and  twenty  men,  he 
went  quietly  past  the  guns  of  the  fort,  concealed  by  the  blackness  of  a 
cloudy  night,  ascended  the  river  to  the  town,  and  landed  directly  in  front 
of  the  hotel.  A  high  bank  concealed  the  party  from  view,  and  lying  in 
ambush  here  they  managed  to  capture  some  negroes,  from  whom  the 
desired  information  was  obtained.  Then  with  two  officers  and  a  seaman, 
Gushing  walked  from  the  deck  to  Gen.  Herbert's  headquarters  in  so  open 
a  manner  as  to  disarm  suspicion.  Entering  the  house  they  met  an 
engineer  officer,  who  tried  to  raise  an  alarm,  but  was  quickly  captured  and 
gagged.  The  adjutant-general,  never  dreaming  that  any  enemy  could  be  so 
near  him,  supposed  it  was  a  mutiny,  and  fled  hastily,  half  dressed,  to  the 
woods,  not  even  calling  out  the  garrison.  Gushing  then  with  his  speechless 
prisoner  walked  calmly  back  before  the  long  barracks  that  sheltered  a 
thousand  hostile  soldiers,  and  within  a  few  yards  of  the  sentry  on  the 
wharf.  Only  when  the  affrighted  adjutant-general  returned  from  his  hasty 


80  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


trip  to  the  woods  did  the  Confederates  know  that  an  enemy  had  been  in 
their  midst.  Then  there  was  great  excitement,  arresting  of  sentries,  calling 
out  of  guards,  and  signalling  to  the  fort  that  hostile  boats  were  in  the 
harbor.  But  all  too  late.  Cushing's  coolness,  courage,  dash,  and  invincible 
luck  had  carried  him  scot  free  through  another  dare-devil  adventure. 

From  the  "  Monticello  "  Gushing  made  yet  another  dangerous  excursion 
into  the  enemy's  country.  On  this  occasion  he  had  a  more  adequate 
purpose  for  his  perilous  errand.  It  was  believed  that  the  Confederate  ram 
"Raleigh"  was  in  the  Cape  Fear  River  above  the  town  of  Smithville, 
the  scene  of  the  last  adventure.  Gushing  obtained  permission  from  his 
superior  officer  to  ascend  the  river,  and  try  to  blow  up  the  ram  with  a 
torpedo.  On  the  night  of  the  23d  of  June  he  started,  taking  with  him 
Jones  and  Howarth,  the  officers  who  had  been  with  him  in  the  previous  trip, 
and  fifteen  men.  The  night  was  pitchy  dark,  and  all  went  well  as  they 
passed  the  fort  and  the  little  town  of  Smithville.  Fifteen  miles  from  the 
river's  mouth,  they  saw  the  moon  suddenly  break  through  the  clouds  ;  and 
the  surface  of  the  river  suddenly  became  bright,  revealing  to  the  sentries  on 
shore  the  Yankee  boat  fifteen  miles  within  Confederate  territory.  Quickly 
the  boats  turned  about,  and  headed  down  the  river ;  but  this  was  a  mere 
feint,  as  Gushing  doubled  as  soon  as  he  reached  the  shadow  of  the  opposite 
bank,  and  continued  his  course  into  the  hostile  territory.  Toward  morning, 
when  within  about  seven  miles  of  Wilmington,  a  very  stronghold  of  the 
Confederates,  he  landed,  and  hid  his  boat  in  a  neighboring  swamp.  The 
men  lay  in  hiding  all  day;  and,  just  as  they  were  about  to  start  out  again, 
they  captured  two  boats  with  a  Wilmington  fishing-party.  During  the 
second  night  Gushing  crept  cautiously  up  to  within  three  miles  of  Wilming- 
ton, closely  examining  the  defences  of  the  town  and  the  obstructions  in 
the  river.  At  daybreak  he  rowed  up  one  of  the  creeks  until  he  found  the 
road  between  Fort  Fisher  and  Wilmington.  Here  he  crouched  by  a  hedge 
until  a  mounted  mail-carrier  came  by  from  the  fort.  The  soldier  was 
captured  and  dismounted,  vastly  astonished  at  the  sight  of  a  blue-jacket  in 
that  region.  Presently,  along  came  the  carrier  from  the  town,  on  the  way 
to  the  fort.  He  too  was  astonished  at  the  sight,  but  flung  back  a  scornful 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


answer  to  the  demand  that  he  surrender,  and  galloped  hastily  away.  In  an 
instant  Gushing  was  on  the  back  of  the  captured  horse,  and  after  him  ; 
but  the  fugitive  was  too  well  mounted,  and  escaped.  Matters  were  now 
becoming  very  serious.  The  runaway  would  doubtless  give  the  alarm 
everywhere.  Immediate  flight  was  imperative.  The  men  had  been  away 
from  the  boat  for  some  hours,  and  were  famished.  Food  must  be  had.  But 
how  to  get  it  ?  Cushing's  solution  of  the  problem  was  characteristic. 
Having  captured  some  other  prisoners,  he  learned  that  a  store  was  to  be 
found  about  two  miles  off.  A  prisoner  about  Howarth's  size  was  ordered 
to  sirip,  and  Howarth  put  on  his  clothing.  The  change  from  the  trim  blue 
uniform  of  a  Yankee  naval  officer  to  the  slouchy  jeans  jumper  and  overalls 
of  a  North  Carolina  "cracker"  was  somewhat  amusing,  but  the  disguise 
was  complete.  Mounting  the  captured  horse,  Howarth  rode  off  in  the 
character  of  a  "poor-white"  farmer  come  in  to  do  his  marketing.  He 
chatted  freely  with  the  people  he  met  along  the  road,  and  securing  his 
provision,  returned  to  the  boat  without  arousing  the  least  suspicion. 
Snugly  ensconced  in  the  thick  bushes,  the  party  then  proceeded  to  sup,  and 
after  the  meal  amused  themselves  in  cutting  telegraph-wires,  and  at  dark 
returned  to  the  boat.  This  was  the  third  night  in  the  river,  and  Gushing 
prepared  to  return.  Embarking  with  his  prisoners,  he  pulled  up  to  the 
"  Raleigh,"  and  found  that  she  would  not  need  his  attentions,  as  she  was 
already  a  total  wreck.  Then  he  began  the  descent  of  the  river.  When  a 
little  way  down  the  prisoners  were  set  adrift,  with  neither  sails  nor  oars  in 
order  that  they  might  not  report  the  occurrence  too  soon.  The  blue- 
jackets continued  their  pull  down  the  river.  Just  as  they  reached  the 
mouth  the  moon  shone  out,  and  a  quick  hail  came  from  a  guard-boat. 
Gushing  made  no  answer,  but  in  a  low  voice  urged  his  men  on,  intending 
to  attack  the  enemy.  But  in  an  instant  more  three  boats  came  out  of  the 
shadow,  and  at  the  same  instant  five  appeared  on  the  other  side.  One 
opening  seemed  left  for  the  beleaguered  boat  to  dash  through.  At  it  they 
went,  but  a  schooner  filled  with  troops  suddenly  appeared  blockading  this 
last  exit.  It  looked  as  though  all  was  up,  and  those  in  the  boat  saw  before 
them  the  cheerful  prospect  of  execution  as  spies.  But  Cushing's  pluck  and 


82  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


self-possession,  which  had  never  yet  failed,  still  stood  by  him.  He 
resorted  to  strategy,  and,  like  the  hunted  fox,  threw  his  pursuers  off  the 
track  by  doubling.  He  made  a  dash  so  rapid  and  determined  towards  the 
western  bar,  that  all  the  boats  of  the  enemy  rushed  to  block  that  point. 
For  an  instant  his  own  was  in  the  shadow  of  a  cloud.  In  that  instant 
he  had  turned,  and  headed  at  full  speed  for  New  Inlet.  His  men  were  as 
cool  as  he.  With  a  few  vigorous  pulls  the  boat  shot  out  into  the  breakers 
where  the  enemy  dared  not  follow  it,  and  soon  after  the  cutter  was  hoisted 
to  the  davits  of  the  "  Monticello,"  uninjured,  after  a  stay  of  three  nights 
in  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country. 

It  was  near  the  end  of  the  great  war  that  Gushing  performed  the 
greatest  feat  of  daring  of  his  adventurous  career ;  and,  as  on  the  previous 
occasions,  the  scene  of  the  exploit  was  in  the  waters  tributary  to  the  North 
Carolina  sounds.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1863  it  became  evident  to  the 
officers  of  the  Union  squadron  in  the  sounds,  that  the  Confederates  were 
making  arrangements  to  drive  the  Yankee  ships  from  those  waters,  and 
to  re-open  the  coasting-trade  to  the  people  of  North  Carolina.  The  chief 
source  of  alarm  to  the  fleet  was  a  heavy  iron-clad  which  was  reported  to 
be  building  on  the  Roanoke  River  above  Plymouth.  Full  descriptions 
of  this  vessel  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Union  officers ;  and  they  saw  clearly 
that,  should  she  be  completed,  no  vessel  of  the  sound  squadron,  nor  perhaps 
the  entire  navy,  would  be  able  to  do  battle  against  her  successfully.  The 
river  was  too  shallow  for  the  war-vessels  to  go  up  to  the  point  where 
the  ram  was  being  built,  and  the  channel  at  Hatteras  Inlet  was  not  deep 
enough  for  iron-clads  to  be  brought  in  to  compete  with  the  enemy  when 
finished.  The  naval  authorities  repeatedly  urged  the  army  to  send  an 
expedition  to  burn  the  boat ;  but  Major-Gen.  Foster,  in  command  of  the 
department  of  North  Carolina,  declared  it  was  of  no  importance,  as  the 
Confederates  would  never  put  it  to  any  use.  Time  showed  a  very  different 
state  of  affairs.  In  April,  1864,  the  ram  was  completed,  and  named  the 
"  Albemarle."  Her  first  work  was  to  co-operate  with  ten  thousand  Con- 
federate troops  in  the  re-capture  of  Plymouth,  which  was  accomplished 
with  very  little  difficulty.  Lieut.  Flusser  was  at  Plymouth  with  four  small 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  83 


gunboats,  and  remained  bravely  at  his  post  as  he  saw  the  powerful  ram 
bearing  down  upon  him.  It  was  half-past  three  in  the  morning,  and  the 
chill,  gray  dawn  was  just  breaking  over  the  earth.  Above  the  river  hung 
a  mist,  through  which  the  great  body  of  the  ram  could  be  seen  coming 
doggedly  down  to  the  conflict.  The  "Miami  "  and  "Southfield"  were 
lashed  together ;  and,  at  the  order  of  Commander  Flusser,  they  started  to 
meet  the  iron-clad,  firing  quickly  and  with  good  aim.  The  "Albemarle" 
came  on  silently,  disdaining  to  fire  a  gun.  With  a  crash  she  struck  the 
"  Miami  "  a  glancing  blow  on  the  port -bow,  gouging  off  two  great  planks. 
Sliding  past  the  wounded  craft,  she  plunged  into  the  "  Southfield,''  crushing 
completely  through  her  side,  so  that  she  began  to  settle  at  once.  The 
lashings  between  the  gunboats  parted,  and  the  "  Southfield "  sank  rapidly, 
carrying  part  of  her  crew  with  her.  As  the  "Albemarle"  crashed  into 
the  two  vessels,  she  fired  her  bow-gun  several  times,  killing  and  wounding 
many  of  the  Union  sailors,  and  killing  Lieut.  Flusser.  When  she  turned 
and  made  a  second  dash  for  the  "  Miami,"  the  latter  fled  down  the  stream, 
knowing  that  to  dare  the  power  of  the  enemy  was  mere  madness.  The 
"Albemarle"  steamed  back  to  Plymouth,  and  by  her  aid  the  town  was 
easily  re-captured  by  the  Confederates. 

The  squadron  in  the  sounds  was  now  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  anxiety. 
At  any  moment  the  impregnable  monster  might  descend  the  river  and 
destroy  the  frail  wooden  gunboats  at  her  leisure.  Preparations  were 
made  for  a  desperate  battle  when  the  time  should  come.  Captains  were 
instructed  to  bring  their  ships  to  close  quarters  with  the  enemy  and  to 
endeavor  to  throw  powder  or  shells  down  her  smoke-stack.  Every  possible 
means  by  which  a  wooden  steamer  might  cope  with  an  iron-clad  was 
provided. 

On  the  5th  of  May  the  ram  put  in  an  appearance,  steaming  down 
the  river.  Deliberately  she  approached  within  easy  range,  then  let  fly 
a  shot  at  the  "  Mattabesett "  which  knocked  her  launch  to  pieces  and 
wounded  several  men.  The  "  Mattabesett "  ran  up  to  within  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  of  the  "Albemarle,"  and  gave  her  a  broadside  of  solid  shot 
from  nine-inch  Dahlgrens  and  one  hundred-pounder  rifles.  When  these 


84  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


shot  struck  a  sloping  place-  on  the  ram's  armor,  they  glanced  off.  Those 
that  struck  full  on  the  plating  simply  crumbled  to  pieces,  leaving  no  dent 
to  tell  of  the  blow.  One  beautifully  aimed  shot  struck  the  muzzle  of  one 
of  the  cannon  on  the  ram  and  broke  it.  The  gun  was  used  throughout 
the  fight,  however,  as  the  "Albemarle"  carried  but  two  and  could  not 
spare  one  of  them.  The  "Sassacus"  followed  in  line  of  battle.  She 
delivered  her  broadside  in  passing.  The  ram  rushed  madly  at  her,  but 
was  evaded  by  good  steering.  Then  the  "  Sassacus "  in  turn  rushed  at 
the  ram  at  full  speed,  thinking  to  run  her  down.  She  struck  amidships 
at  right  angles,  and  with  the  crash  of  the  collision  came  a  hundred-pound 
shot  from  the  ram,  that  passed  through  the  wooden  ship  from  end  to 
end.  Still  the  engines  of  the  "  Sassacus "  were  kept  going,  in  the  hope 
of  pushing  the  "  Albemarle "  beneath  the  water.  The  iron-clad  careened 
slowly,  the  water  washed  over  her  after-deck ;  the  crew  of  the  "  Sassacus," 
far  out  on  the  bow,  tried  vainly  to  drop  shells  and  packages  of  powder 
down  the  ram's  smoking  chimneys.  It  was  a  moment  of  intense  excite- 
ment. But  the  ram  was  too  much  for  her  assailant.  Recovering  from 
the  shock  of  the  collision,  she  slowly  swung  around  until  her  bow-gun 
could  be  brought  to  bear  on  her  tormentor,  when  she  let  fly  a  ponderous 
bolt.  It  crashed  through  the  side  of  the  steamer  and  plunged  into  her 
boiler.  In  an  instant  hot,  scalding  steam  filled  tl\e  engine-room  and 
spread  over  the  whole  ship.  Cries  of  agony  arose  on  every  side.  Twenty- 
one  of  the  crew  were  terribly  scalded.  Nothing  remained- but  retreat;  and 
the  "  Sassacus  "  steamed  away  from  her  enemy,  after  making  one  of  the 
bravest  fights  in  naval  history.  In  the  mean  time  the  other  gunboats 
were  pounding  away  at  the  ram.  The  "  Miami "  was  trying  in  vain  to 
get  an  opportunity  to  discharge  a  large  torpedo.  Two  other  vessels  were 
spreading  nets  about  the  great  ship,  trying  to  foul  the  propeller.  The 
action  continued  until  dark,  when  the  ram  withdrew,  uninjured  and  without 
losing  a  man.  She  had  fought  alone  for  three  hours  against  six  ships, 
and  had  seriously  damaged  every  one  of  her  adversaries.  It  must  also 
be  remembered  that  she  carried  but  two  guns. 

The  "Albemarle"  lay  for  a  long  time  idle  at  her  moorings  in  Roanoke 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  85 


River,  feeling  sure  that  at  her  own  pleasure  she  could  go  into  the  sounds, 
and  complete  the  destruction  of  the  fleet.  Lieut.  Gushing,  then  twenty-one 
years  old.  begged  permission  to  attempt  to  destroy  her.  The  authority  was 
gladly  granted  by  the  navy  department,  and  Gushing  began  making  his 
plans  for  the  adventure.  His  first  plan  was  to  take  a  squad  of  men,  with 
two  steam-launches,  up  the  Roanoke,  and  blow  the  ram  up  by  means  of  a 
torpedo.  The  launches  were  sent  from  New  York,  but  one  was  swamped 
while  crossing  Delaware  Bay. 

Gushing,  however,  was  not  the  man  to  be  balked  by  an  accident :  so, 
cutting  down  his  force  one-half,  he  prepared  for  the  start.  Thirteen  officers 
and  men  made  up  the  little  party  which  seemed  bound  to  certain  death. 
The  spirit  which  animated  the  blue-jackets  during  the  war  may  be  imagined 
from  the  fact  that  many  sailors  tried  to  purchase  the  privilege  of  going  on 
this  perilous  expedition,  by  offering  their  month's  pay  to  those  who  had 
been  selected.  To  understand  what  a  forlorn  hope  the  little  boat-load  of 
men  were  cherishing,  we  must  understand  what  were  the  defences  of  the 
"  Albemarle."  She  lay  at  a  broad  wharf,  on  which  was  encamped  a  large 
guard  of  soldiers  as  well  as  her  crew.  Above  and  below  her,  great  fires 
were  kept  burning  on  the  shores,  to  prevent  any  boat  approaching  unseen. 
She  was  surrounded  by  a  boom,  or  "water-fence,"  of  floating  logs,  about 
thirty  feet  from  her  hull,  to  keep  off  any  torpedo-boats.  From  the  mouth 
of  the  Roanoke  to  her  moorings  was  about  eight  miles ;  the  shores  being 
lined  on  either  side  by  pickets,  and  a  large  picket-station  being  established 
in  mid-stream  about  one  mile  below  Plymouth. 

To  attempt  to  penetrate  this  network  of  defences  seemed  to  be  fool- 
hardy. Yet  Cushing's  record  for  dash  and  courage,  and  his  enthusiasm, 
inspired  his  comrades  with  confidence ;  and  they  set  out  feeling  certain  of 
success.  On  the  night  of  the  2/th  of  October,  the  daring  band,  in  their 
pygmy  steamer,  steamed  rapidly  up  the  river.  No  word  was  spoken  aboard. 
The  machinery  was  oiled  until  it  ran  noiselessly  ;  and  not  a  light  shone  from 
the  little  craft,  save  when  the  furnace-door  was  hastily  opened  to  fire  up. 
The  Confederate  sentries  on  the  bank  saw  nothing  of  the  party  ;  and,  even 
when  they  passed  the  picket  schooners  near  the  wreck  of  the  "  Southfield," 


86  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


they  were  unchallenged,  although  they  could  see  the  schooners,  and  hear 
the  voices  of  the  men,  not  more  than  twenty  yards  away.  Not  until  they 
came  into  the  fitful  glare  of  the  firelight  were  they  seen,  and  then  quick 
hails  came  from  the  sentries  on  the  wharf  and  the  "  Albemarle's"  decks. 
But  the  light  on  the  shore  aided  the  adventurers  by  showing  them  the 
position  of  the  ram.  They  dashed  up  alongside,  amid  a  shower  of  bullets 
that  seemed  to  fill  the  air.  On  the  decks  of  the  ram  all  was  confusion, 
the  alarm  rattles  were  sprung,  the  bell  rung  violently.  The  launch  running 
alongside  came  into  contact  with  the  row  of  logs,  and  sheered  off  to  make 
a  dash  over  it.  Gushing,  who  on  these  dangerous  expeditions  was  like  a 
schoolboy  on  a  holiday,  answered  with  ridicule  all  hails.  "  Go  ashore  for 
your  lives,"  "  Surrender  yourselves,  or  I  shall  sink  you,"  he  cried,  as  the 
gunners  on  the  ram  trained  a  heavy  gun  on  the  little  launch.  Now  she 
was  headed  straight  for  the  ram,  and  had  a  run  of  thirty  yards  before 
striking  the  boom.  She  reached,  and  dashed  over.  Gushing,  standing  in 
the  stern,  held  in  one  hand  the  tiller  ropes,  in  the  other  the  lanyard  of  the 
torpedo.  He  looked  up,  saw  the  muzzle  of  a  heavy  gun  trained  directly 
on  his  boat :  one  convulsive  pull  of  the  rope,  and  with  a  roar  the  torpedo 
exploded  under  the  hull  of  the  "Albemarle,"  just  as  a  hundred-pound  shot 
crashed  through  the  bottom  of  his  boat.  In  a  second  the  launch  had  dis- 
appeared ;  her  crew  were  struggling  in  the  waves,  or  lying  dead  beneath 
them,  and  the  "  Albemarle  "  with  a  mortal  wound  was  sinking  to  the  bottom. 
Gushing  swam  to  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  headed  down  stream. 
Most  of  his  companions  were  killed,  captured,  or  drowned.  In  the  middle 
of  the  stream  he  met  Woodman,  who  had  followed  him  on  previous  expedi- 
tions. Woodman  was  almost  exhausted.  Gushing  supported  him  as  long 
as  he  was  able,  but  was  forced  to  leave  him,  and  the  sailor  sank  to  the 
bottom.  The  young  lieutenant  floated  down  the  river  until  at  last  he 
reached  the  shore,  exhausted  and  faint  from  a  wound  in  his  wrist.  He  lay 
half  covered  with  water  in  a  swamp  until  daylight.  While  there  he  heard 
two  Confederate  officers  who  passed  say  that  the  "Albemarle"  was  a 
total  wreck.  That  news  gave  him  new  energy,  and  he  set  about  getting 
safely  away.  Through  the  thick  undergrowth  of  the  swamp  he  crawled  for 


DESTRUCTION   OF  THE  "  ALBEMARLE." 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


89 


some  hours,  until  he  found  a  negro  who  gave  him  shelter  and  food.  Then 
he  plunged  again  into  the  swamp,  and  walked  on  until  he  captured  a  skiff 
from  a  Rebel  picket ;  and  with  this  he  safely  reached  the  fleet,  —  the  only 
one  of  the  thirteen  who  set  out  two  days  before.  So  ended  the  most 
wonderful  adventure  of  the  war. 


Hlf 

&h£$.  i 


CHAPTER   VII. 


THE  BLOCKADE-RUNNERS.  —  NASSAU  AND  WILMINGTON. —  WORK  OF  THE  CRUISERS. 

HILE  it  is  undeniably  true  that  the  naval  battles  of  the  civil 
war  were  in  many  cases  unimportant  as  compared  with  the 
gigantic  operations  of  the  mighty  armies  in  Virginia  and  Ten- 
nessee, yet  there  was  one  service  performed  by  the  navy,  alone 
and  unaided,  which  probably,  more  than  any  thing  else,  led  to  the  final 
subjugation  of  the  South.  This  was  the  blockade. 

To  fully  appreciate  what  a  terrible  weapon  the  blockade  is  when  ener- 
getically pursued,  one  need  only  look  at  the  condition  of  the  South  during 
the  latter  years  of  the  war.  Medicines  were  almost  unattainable  for  love 
or  money.  Salt  was  more  carefully  hoarded  than  silver.  Woollen  goods 
for  clothing  were  not  to  be  had.  Nothing  that  could  not  be  produced 
by  the  people  of  the  revolted  States  could  be  obtained  at  their  markets. 
Their  whole  territory  was  in  a  state  of  siege,  surrounded  by  a  barrier 
only  a  little  less  unrelenting  than  the  iron  circle  the  Germans  drew  around 
besieged  Paris. 

Almost  the  first  war  measure  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  to  declare  the 

ports  of  the  Confederacy  in  a  state  of  blockade.     At  first  this  seemed  a 

rash  proclamation,   and  one  which  could   not    be    sustained    by  the   force 

at  the  command  of  the  Federals.     It  is  a  rule  of  warfare,  that  "blockades, 

90 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '6r.  91 

to  be  binding,  must  be  effective ; "  that  is,  it  is*  not  lawful  for  a  nation 
with  a  small  fleet  to  declare  an  enemy's  coast  in  a  state  of  blockade,  and 
then  capture  such  trading- vessels  as  may  happen  to  run  in  the  way  of 
its  cruisers.  The  nation  must  have  a  large  enough  fleet  to  station  vessels 
before  each  of  the  principal  harbors  of  the  enemy,  and  to  maintain  a 
constant  and  vigilant  patrol  up  and  down  his  coast.  If  this  cannot  be 
done,  the  blockade  is  called  a  "  paper  blockade,"  and  merchantmen  are 
justified  in  attempting  to  evade  it.  An  instance  of  a  "paper  blockade" 
occurred  during  the  early  months  of  the  civil  war,  which  will  illustrate 
this  point.  Wilmington,  N.C.,  was  throughout  the  war  one  of  the  favorite 
ports  for  blockade-runners.  From  its  situation,  the  many  entrances  to 
its  harbor,  and  other  natural  advantages,  it  was  the  most  difficult  of  all 
the  Southern  ports  to  keep  guarded.  With  the  rest  of  the  Confederate 
ports,  Wilmington  was  declared  blockaded  ;  but  it  was  long  after,  before 
a  suitable  blockading-fleet  was  stationed  there.  In  July,  1861,  the  British 
brig  "Herald"  left  Wilmington  without  molestation.  When  two  days 
out,  she  ran  across  a  United  States  man-of-war,  that  promptly  captured  her. 
The  courts,  however,  decided  that  a  port  so  little  guarded  as  Wilmington 
was  at  that  time  could  not  be  legally  called  blockaded,  and  the  brig  was 
therefore  released. 

But  it  did  not  take  many  months  for  the  energetic  men  of  the  Navy 
Department  to  get  together  such  a  fleet  of  boats  of  all  kinds  as  to  enable 
them  to  effectually  seal  all  the  ports  of  the  Confederacy.  A  blockading 
vessel  need  not  be  of  great  strength  or  powerful  armament.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  that  she  should  be  swift,  and  carry  a  gun  heavy  enough  to 
overawe  any  merchantman  that  might  attempt  to  run  the  blockade.  And 
as  such  vessels  were  easy  to  improvise  out  of  tug-boats,  ferry-boats,  yachts, 
and  other  small  craft,  it  came  about  that  by  the  last  of  1861,  the  people 
of  the  seaport  towns  of  the  South,  looking  seaward  from  their  deserted 
wharves,  could  see  two  or  three  Federal  cruisers  lying  anchored  off  the 
outer  bar,  just  out  of  reach  of  the  guns  of  shore-batteries.  It  was  a  service 
of  no  little  danger  for  the  blue-jackets.  The  enemy  were  ever  on  the  alert 
to  break  the  blockade  by  destroying  the  ships  with  torpedoes.  Iron-clad 


92  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 


rams  were  built  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  and  sent  down  to  sink  and  de- 
stroy the  vessels  whose  watchfulness  meant  starvation  to  the  Confederacy. 
The  "Albemarle"  and  the  "Merrimac"  were  notable  instances  of  this 
course  of  attack.  But  the  greatest  danger  which  the  sailors  had  to 
encounter  was  the  peril  of  being  wrecked  by  the  furious  storms  which 
continually  ravage  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  sailor  loves  the  open  sea  in 
a  blow ,  but  until  the  civil  war,  no  captain  had  ever  dared  to  lie  tugging 
at  his  cables  within  a  mile  or  two  of  a  lee  shore,  with  a  stiff  north-easter 
lashing  the  sea  into  fury.  In  the  blockading  service  of  our  great  naval 
war,  the  war  of  1812,  the  method  in  vogue  was  to  keep  a  few  vessels 
cruising  up  and  down  the  coast ;  and,  when  it  came  on  to  blow,  these  ships 
would  put  out  into  the  open  sea  and  scud  for  some  other  point.  But  in 
'61  we  had  hundreds  of  vessels  stationed  along  the  enemy's  coast ;  and 
where  a  ship  was  stationed,  there  she  stayed,  to  meet  the  fury  of  the  wind 
and  waves  by  putting  out  more  anchors,  and  riding  out  at  her  cables 
storms  that  would  have  blown  the  blockader  of  1812  hundreds  of  miles 
from  her  post. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  the  war  the  blockade-runners  were  nearly  all 
sailing-vessels,  schooners,  and  brigs,  that  were  easily  captured.  But  when 
the  supplies  of  the  South  became  exhausted,  and  the  merchants  of  Eng- 
land began  building  ships  especially  for  this  purpose,  the  duty  of  the 
blockading  squadron  became  exciting  and  often  very  profitable.  The 
business  assumed  such  proportions  that  half  the  ship-yards  in  England 
were  engaged  in  turning  out  fast  steamers  to  engage  in  it.  At  first  it 
was  the  custom  to  send  goods  in  regular  ocean-steamers  from  England 
to  the  blockaded  port ;  but  this  was  soon  abandoned,  as  the  risk  of  capture 
on  the  long  run  across  the  Atlantic  was  too  great.  Not  until  the  plan 
was  adopted  of  shipping  the  goods  to  some  neutral  port  along  our  coast, 
and  there  transferring  the  cargo  to  some  small,  swift  vessel,  and  making 
the  run  into  the  Confederate  port  in  a  few  hours,  did  the  business  of 
blockade-running  become  very  extensive.  Goods  shipped  for  a  neutral 
point  were  in  no  danger  of  being  captured  by  our  cruisers,  and  therefore 
the  danger  of  the  long  trans-Atlantic  passage  was  done  away  with. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  93 

Of  these  neutral  points  which  served  as  way-stations  for  the  blockade- 
runners,  there  were  four  on  or  near  our  coast,  —  the  Bermuda  Islands, 
which  lie  about  seven  hundred  miles  east  of  Charleston ;  Nassau,  which  is 
off  the  coast  of  Florida,  and  a  little  more  than  five  hundred  miles  south- 
east of  Charleston  ;  Havana ;  and  the  little  Mexican  town  of  Matamoras 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  opposite  Brownsville,  Texas.  The  Bermudas  were  to 
some  extent  used,  but  their  distance  from  the  coast  made  them  incon- 
venient as  compared  with  Nassau  or  Matamoras.  Their  chief  trade  was 
with  Wilmington,  which  became  a  favorite  port  during  the  latter  years 
of  the  war.  Havana  was  popular  for  a  time,  and  at  first  sight  would 
appear  to  be  admirably  placed  for  a  blockade-runners'  rendezvous.  But, 
though  the  coast  of  Florida  was  but  one  hundred  miles  distant,  it  was 
surrounded  by  dangerous  reefs,  its  harbors  were  bad  and  far  apart,  and 
there  were  no  railroads  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State  to  transport 
the  contraband  goods  after  they  were  landed.  Besides,  Key  West,  the 
naval  station  of  the  Union  forces  in  the  South,  was  unpleasantly  near,  and 
the  gulf  blockade  was  maintained  with  more  rigor  than  that  on  the  Atlantic 
coast.  Matamoras  was  peculiarly  well  situated  for  a  blockade-running  point. 
It  is  on  the  Mexican  side  of  the  Rio  Grande  River,  about  forty  miles  above 
its  mouth.  Goods  once  landed  could  be  shipped  in  barges  and  lighters 
across  the  river  in  absolute  safety,  since  heavy  batteries  prevented  the 
cruisers  of  the  gulf-squadron  from  entering  the  river.  As  a  result  of 
this  trade,  Matamoras  became  a  thriving  place.  Hundreds  of  vessels  lay 
in  its  harbor,  where  now  it  is  unusual  to  see  five  at  a  time.  For  four  years 
its  streets  were  crowded  with  heavy  freight  vans,  while  stores  and  hotels 
reaped  a  rich  harvest  from  the  sailors  of  the  vessels  engaged  in  the  contra- 
band traffic.  Now  it  is  as  quiet  and  sleepy  a  little  town  as  can  be  found  in 
all  the  drowsy  land  of  Mexico. 

But  the  true  paradise  of  the  blockade-runners  was  Nassau,  the  chief 
port  of  the  Bahama  Islands,  and  a  colony  of  Great  Britain.  Here  all  the 
conditions  necessary  to  successfully  evade  the  blockade  were  to  be  found. 
The  flag  that  waved  over  the  island  was  that  of  a  nation  powerful  enough 
to  protect  its  citizens,  and  to  enforce  the  laws  relative  to  neutrality. 


94 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


Furthermore,  Great  Britain  was  undoubtedly  in  sympathy  with  the  Con- 
federates ;  and  so  far  from  prohibiting  the  efforts  of  her  citizens  to  keep  up 
trade  with  the  blockaded  ports,  she  encouraged  and  aided  them  in  every 
way  in  her  power.  And  aside  from  her  mere  sympathy  with  the  struggles 


NASSAU:    THE  HAUNT  OF  THE  BLOCKADE-RUNNERS. 

of  the  young  Confederacy,  England  had  a  most  powerful  incentive  to  break 
down  the  blockade.  In  Manchester  the  huge  cotton-mills,  employing  thou- 
sands of  hands,  were  shut  down  for  lack  of  cotton,  and  the  mill-hands 
were  starving  for  lack  of  work ;  while  shut  up  in  the  blockaded  ports  of 
the  South  were  tons  upon  tons  of  the  fleecy  staple,  that,  once  in  England, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  95 


would  be  worth  its  weight  in  gold.  It  was  small  wohder  that  the  merchants 
of  England  set  to  work  deliberately  to  fit  out  blockade-runners,  that  they 
might  again  get  their  mills  running,  and  their  people  fed. 

The  years  of  the  war  were  lively  times  for  the  little  town  of  Nassau. 
Hardly  had  the  proclamation  of  President  Lincoln  announcing  the  blockade 
of  all  Confederate  ports  been  issued,  when  at  a  bound  Nassau  became 
prominent  as  the  point  of  all  most  suitable  for  a  blockade-runners'  ren- 
dezvous. Its  harbor  and  the  surrounding  waters  were  deep  enough  for 
merchant-vessels,  but  too  shallow  to  allow  much  cruising  about  by  war- 
ships of  heavy  armament.  It  was  within  a  few  hours'  running  of  three  Con- 
federate ports,  and  it  was  protected  by  the  flag  of  Great  Britain.  Early  in 
the  war  the  Confederates  established  a  consulate  in  the  little  town,  and 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  the  Stars  and  Bars  waved  within  a  few  rods  of 
each  other.  Then  great  shipping-houses  of  Liverpool  sent  over  agents, 
and  established  branch  houses.  Great  warehouses  and  wharves  were  built. 
Soon  great  ocean  ships  and  steamers  began  unloading  their  cargoes  at 
these  wharves.  Then  swift,  rakish  schooners  bega.n  to  drop  into  the  harbor, 
and  after  discharging  heavy  loads  of  cotton  would  take  on  cargoes  of 
English  goods,  and  slip  out  at  nightfall  to  begin  the  stealthy  dash  past  the 
watching  gunboats.  As  the  war  went  on,  and  the  profits  of  the  trade 
increased  with  its  dangers,  a  new  style  of  craft  began  to  appear  in  the  little 
harbor.  These  were  the  Clyde  built  blockade-runners,  on  which  the  work- 
men of  the  Clyde  ship-yards  had  been  laboring  day  and  night  to  get  them 
ready  before  the  war  should  end.  They  were  long,  low,  piratical  looking 
craft,  with  two  smoke-stacks  raking  aft,  and  with  one  or  two  masts  for 
showing  signals,  for  they  never  hoisted  a  sail.  Two  huge  paddle-boxes 
towered  above  the  deck  amidships,  the  wheels  being  of  enormous  size.  No 
structure  of  any  kind  encumbered  the  deck.  Even  the  steersman  stood 
unsheltered  at  a  wheel  in  the  bow.  They  were  painted  dark  gray,  and  at 
night  could  slip  unseen  along  the  water  within  a  stone's-throw  of  the  most 
watchful  lookout  on  a  man-of-war.  They  burned  great  quantities  of  a  kind 
of  coal  that  gave  out  no  smoke,  and  when  steaming  at  night  not  a  light 
was  allowed  on  board.  Many  of  th'ese  strange  craft  can  be  seen  now  along 


96 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


the  levees  at  New  Orleans,  or  at  the  wharves  in  Mobile,  where  they  are 
used  as  excursion-steamers  or  for  tug-boats.     They  were  always  the  merest 


COTTON   SHIPS   AT  NASSAU. 


shells,  fitted  only  for  carrying  freight,  as  not  many  passengers  were  to  be 
found  who  desired  to  be  taken  into  the  Confederate  territory.  Occasionally, 
however,  some  soldier  of  fortune  from  abroad  would  drift  from  Nassau,  and 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  97 


thence  to  the  mainland,  to  join  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy.  The  Con- 
federate agents  on  the  island  were  always  on  the  lookout  for  such  adven- 
turers, and  were  ever  ready  to  aid  them.  Sometimes,  too,  returning 
agents  of  the  Confederacy  from  Europe  would  make  the  run  through  the 
blockading-fleet ;  so  that  the  blockade-runners  were  seldom  without  two 
or  three  passengers,  poor  though  their  accommodations  might  be.  For  the 
voyage  from  Nassau  to  Wilmington,  three  hundred  dollars  passage  money 
was  charged,  or  more  than  fifty  cents  a  mile.  To  guard  against  treachery,, 
passage  could  only  be  obtained  through  the  Confederate  consul,  who  care- 
fully investigated  the  proofs  of  each  applicant's  identity  before  issuing  to 
him  a  ticket. 

When  the  blockade-runner  had  taken  her  cargo  and  passengers  aboard, 
and  was  prepared  for  her  voyage,  every  one  in  the  little  town  came  down  to- 
the  docks  to  see  her  start.  It  was  a  populace  strongly  Southern  in  feeling 
that  filled  the  streets  of  Nassau,  and  nothing  but  good  wishes  were 
to  be  heard  on  every  side.  Perhaps  from  a  house  on  the  hill-side,  over 
which  floated  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  the  United  States  consul  might  be 
watching  through  a  spyglass  the  movements  of  the  steamer,  and  wishing 
in  his  heart  that  she  might  fall  in  with  some  Yankee  cruiser ;  but 
nevertheless,  under  his  very  eyes,  the  audacious  racer  slips  out,  and  starts- 
on  her  stealthy  voyage.  On  leaving  the  harbor,  a  quick  run  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  would  be  taken  along  the  coast,  to  try  the  machinery.  Great 
care  would  be  taken  to  keep  within  British  waters,  lest  some  watchful  gun- 
boat should  seize  the  prize  thus  early  in  her  career.  When  every  thing 
proved  in  good  working  trim,  the  little  vessel's  prow  would  be  turned 
northward,  and  the  perilous  voyage  begun.  For  the  first  day,  little  danger 
was  to  be  expected,  and  the  voyage  was  generally  so  timed  that  the  outer 
line  of  blockaders  would  be  reached  just  after  nightfall.  A  soldier  going 
to  enlist  in  one  of  the  Confederate  cavalry  regiments  thus  tells  the  story 
of  his  evasion  of  the  blockade. 

"  After  a  favorable  voyage  we  reached  the  desired  point  off  Wilmington 
at  the  proper  time.  A  brief  stoppage  was  made,  when  soon  the  final 
preparations  were  completed  for  running  the  gauntlet  of  the  Federal 


BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 


blockaders,  who  would  become  visible  shortly,  as  we  approached  nearer  shore. 
All  the  lights  in  the  steamer  were  extinguished,  and  all  passengers  ordered 
below,  only  the  officers  and  crew  being  permitted  to  remain  on  deck. 
The  furnaces  were  replenished  with  carefully  selected  coal,  which  would 
give  the  greatest  amount  of  heat  and  the  least  smoke.  The  last  orders 
were  given,  and  every  man  was  at  his  appointed  place.  Presently  the 
boilers  hissed,  and  the  paddle-wheels  began  to  revolve  faster  and  faster, 
as  the  fleet  little  steamer  rose  higher  and  higher  in  the  water  from  the 
immense  force  of  the  rapid  strokes  ;  she  actually  felt  like  a  horse  gathering 
himself  up  under  you  for  a  great  leap.  After  a  little  while,  the  few  faint 
sounds  from  the  deck  which  we  could  hitherto  faintly  catch  in  the  cabin 
ceased  altogether,  and  there  was  the  stillness  of  death  except  for  the 
sounds  necessarily  made  by  the  movements  of  the  machinery.  Then  we 
realized  that  we  were  running  for  our  lives  past  the  line  of  cruisers,  and 
that  at  any  moment  a  big  shell  might  come  crashing  through  our  cabin, 
disagreeably  lighting  up  the  darkness  in  which  we  were  sitting.  Our 
suspense  was  prolonged  for  some  minutes  longer,  when  the  speed  was 
slackened,  and  finally  we  stopped  altogether.  Even  then  we  did  not  know 
whether  we  were  safely  through  the  lines,  or  whether  we  had  been  brought 
to  under  the  guns  of  a  hostile  ship,  for  we  could  distinguish  nothing  what- 
ever through  the  portholes.  However,  we  were  soon  released  from  the 
cabin,  and  walked  on  deck,  to  find  ourselves  safely  through  the  blockade. 
In  the  offing  could  be  descried  several  of  the  now  harmless  blockaders, 
and  near  at  hand  lay  the  coast  of  North  Carolina.  Soon  the  gray  dawn 
was  succeeded  by  a  brilliant,  lovely  sunrise,  which  lighted  up  cheerfully  the 
low-lying  shores  and  earthworks  bristling  with  artillery,  while  from  a  fort 
near  by  floated  the  Southern  Cross,  the  symbol  of  the  glorious  cause  for 
which  we  had  come  to  fight." 

When  the  blockade-runner,  after  safely  running  the  gauntlet  of  the 
war-ships,  steamed  leisurely  up  to  the  wharves  of  the  blockaded  town, 
every  one  rushed  to  the  docks  to  greet  her.  Her  captain  and  crew  became 
at  once  people  of  great  importance.  They  were  beset  on  every  side  for 
news  of  the  great  world  outside.  The  papers  that  they  brought  in  were 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  99 

bought  eagerly  by  the  people,  hungering  for  tidings  of  something  else  than 
the  interminable  war.  The  sailors  of  the  steamer,  on  being  paid  off, 
rambled  about  the  streets  of  the  city,  spending  their  money  royally,  and 
followed  by  a  train  of  admiring  hangers-on.  The  earnings  of  the  sailors 
in  case  of  a  successful  voyage  were  immense.  A  thousand  dollars  for  the 
four  or  five  days'  trip  was  nothing  unusual  for  common  seamen,  while  the 
captain  often  received  eight  or  nine  thousand.  But  the  risk  of  capture, 
with  the  confiscation  of  all  property,  and  some  months'  imprisonment  in 
a  Federal  fortress,  rather  marred  the  attractiveness  of  the  nefarious  trade. 
The  profits  of  a  successful  voyage  to  the  owner  of  the  ship  and  cargo  were 
enormous.  One  of  the  steamers,  specially  built  for  the  trade,  at  large  cost, 
has  been  known  to  pay  for  herself  fully  in  one  voyage.  Indeed,  the  profits 
must  have  been  huge  to  induce  merchants  to  take  the  risk  of  absolutely 
losing  a  ship  and  cargo  worth  half  a  million  of  dollars.  It  is  certain,  too, 
that  throughout  the  war  the  number  of  vessels  captured,  while  trying 
to  run  the  blockade,  was  far  in  excess  of  those  that  succeeded.  Up  to  the 
end  of  1863  the  Federal  Secretary  of  the  Navy  reported  1,045  vessels 
captured,  classified  as  follows:  schooners,  547;  steamers,  179;  sloops, 
117;  brigs,  30;  barks,  26;  ships,  15;  yachts  and  boats,  117.  Of  course, 
most  of  these  were  small,  coastwise  vessels.  Even  among  the  steamers 
captured,  there  were  but  few  of  the  fleet-going,  English-built  craft. 

There  was  no  small  amount  of  smuggling  carried  on  between  the  ports 
of  the  North  and  the  blockaded  ports.  The  patriotism  of  the  Northern 
merchant  was  not  always  so  great  as  to  prevent  his  embarking  in  the 
traffic  which  he  saw  enriching  his  English  competitor.  Many  of  the 
schooners  captured  started  from  Northern  ports  and  worked  their  way 
along  the  coast  until  that  chain  of  inlets,  sounds,  and  bayous  was  reached, 
which  borders  the  coast  south  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  Once  inside  the  bar, 
the  smuggler  could  run  at  his  leisure  for  any  of  the  little  towns  that  stood 
on  the  banks  of  the  rivers  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  The  chase  of 
one  of  these  little  vessels  was  a  dreary  duty  to  the  officers  of  the  block- 
ading-ships.  The  fugitives  were  fast  clippers  of  the  models  that  made 
Maine  ship-builders  famous,  until  the  inauguration  of  steam-navigation 


100  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

made  a  gracefully  modelled  hull  immaterial  as  compared  with  powerful 
machinery.  Even  when  the  great,  lumbering  war-ship  had  overhauled 
the  flying  schooner  so  as  to  bring  a  gun  to  bear  on  her,  the  little  boat 
might  suddenly  dash  into  some  inlet  or  up  a  river,  where  the  man-of-war, 
with  her  heavy  draught,  could  not  hope  to  follow.  And  if  captured,  the 
prize  was  worth  but  little,  and  the  prize-money,  that  cheers  the  sailors' 
hearts,  was  but  small.  But  the  chase  and  capture  of  one  of  the  swift  Clyde- 
built  steamers  was  a  different  matter.  Perhaps  a  lookout  in  the  maintop 
of  a  cruiser,  steaming  idly  about  the  Atlantic,  between  Nassau  and 
Wilmington,  would  spy,  far  off  on  the  horizon,  a  black  speck,  moving 
swiftly  along  the  ocean.  No  curling  smoke  would  tell  of  the  blockade- 
runner's  presence,  and  nothing  could  be  seen  until  the  hull  of  the  steamer 
itself  was  perceptible.  With  the  quick  hail  of  the  lookout,  the  man-of-war 
would  head  for  the  prize,  and  start  in  hot  pursuit.  Certain  it  is  that  the 
smuggler  started  to  fly  before  the  watchful  lookout  on  the  cruiser  caught 
sight  of  her.  ,  The  towering  masts  and  capacious  funnels  of  the  man-of-war, 
with  the  cloud  of  black  smoke  from  her  furnaces,  made  her  a  conspicuous 
object  at  distances  from  which  the  smuggler  would  be  invisible.  With  the 
blockade-runners  the  rule  was  to  avoid  any  sail,  no  matter  how  innocent 
it  might  seem  ;  and  the  appearance  of  a  cloud  of  smoke  on  the  horizon 
was  the  signal  for  an  immediate  change  of  course,  and  a  flight  for  safety. 
When  the  chase  began  in  this  way,  the  cruiser  had  but  little  chance  of 
making  a  capture,  for  the  superior  speed  of  the  merchant-vessel  would 
quickly  carry  her  out  of  sight.  Sometimes,  however,  a  favorable  wind 
would  enable  the  pursuer  to  use  her  sails,  and  then  the  chase  would  become 
exciting.  With  a  cloud  of  canvas  set,  the  man-of-war  would  gradually 
overhaul  the  flying  vessel ;  and  when  within  range,  the  great  bow-gun  would 
be  cleared,  and  with  a  roar  a  shell  would  be  sent  flying  after  the  prize. 
All  hands  would  watch  its  course  anxiously.  Generally  it  fell  short.  Then 
another  and  another  messenger  would  be  sent  to  the  enemy,  which  seldom 
struck  the  mark,  for  gunnery  on  a  rough  sea  is  a  difficult  art.  But  the 
blockade-runner  can't  stand  being  used  for  target-practice  long.  The  cool 
head  of  her  captain  begins  to  deliberate  upon  means  of  getting  out  of 


BLOCKADE-RUNNER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOUNDS. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  103 


range.  Mere  running  before  the  wind  won't  do  if :  so  he  makes  a  long 
detour,  and  doubles  on  his  course,  heading  directly  into  the  teeth  of  the 
breeze.  Now  the  cruiser  is  at  a  disadvantage.  Her  sail-power  gone,  she 
stands  no  chance  of  capturing  her  game.  Her  shells  begin  to  fall  far  short 
of  the  smuggler,  and  soon  she  ceases  firing  altogether ;  and  the  blockade- 
runner,  driven  hundreds  of  miles  out  of  her  course,  but  safe  for  the  time, 
goes  on  her  way  rejoicing. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  captures  of  the  war  was  that  of  the  blockade- 
runner  "Young  Republic,"  by  the  United  States  gunboat  "Grand  Gulf." 
The  "  Young  Republic "  succeeded  in  evading  the  watchfulness  of  the 
blockading-squadron  about  the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  and  under 
cover  of  the  night  ran  in  safely  to  the  anchorage  under  the  guns  of  the 
Confederate  forts.  The  baffled  blockaders  saw  her  moving  slowly  up  the 
river,  while  the  cannon  of  the  forts  on  either  side  thundered  out  salutes 
to  the  daring  vessel  that  brought  precious  supplies  to  the  Confederacy. 
But  the  blockading-squadron,  though  defeated  for  the  time,  determined  to 
wait  and  catch  her  when  she  came  out.  Accordingly  the  "  Grand  Gulf," 
one  of  the  fastest  of  the  United  States  vessels,  was  stationed  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  with  orders  to  watch  for  the  "Young  Republic."  A  week 
passed,  and  there  was  no  sign  of  her.  At  last,  one  bright  day,  the  lookout 
in  the  tops  saw  the  mast  and  funnel  of  a  steamer  moving  along  above  the 
forest  which  lined  the  river's  bank.  Soon  the  hull  of  the  vessel  came  into 
view ;  and  with  a  rattle  of  hawse-chains,  her  anchors  were  let  fall,  and 
she  swung  to  beneath  the  protecting  guns  of  the  fort.  It  was  clear  that  she 
was  going  to  wait  there  until  a  dark  or  foggy  night  gave  her  a  good  chance 
to  slip  past  the  gunboat  that  watched  the  river's  mouth  as  a  cat  watches 
the  mouth  of  a  mouse-hole.  With  their  marine  glasses  the  officers  on  the 
gunboat  could  see  the  decks  of  the  "  Young  Republic "  piled  high  with 
brown  bales  of  cotton,  worth  immense  sums  of  money.  They  thought  of 
the  huge  value  of  the  prize,  and  the  grand  distribution  of  prize-money,  and 
determined  to  use  every  effort  to  make  a  capture.  Strategy  was  determined 
upon,  and  it  was  decided  to  give  the  blockade-runner  the  chance  to  get  out 
of  the  river  that  she  was  awaiting.  Accordingly  the  gunboat  steamed  away 


104  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

up  the  coast  a  few  miles,  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  river  clear.  When 
hidden  by  a  projecting  headland,  she  stopped  and  waited  for  the  blockade- 
runner  to  come  out.  The  stokers  were  kept  hard  at  work  making  the  great 
fires  roar,  until  the  steam-gauge  showed  the  highest  pressure  the  boilers 
could  bear.  The  sailors  got  qut  additional  sails,  clewed  up  cordage  and 
rigging,  and  put  the  ship  in  order  for  a  fast  run.  When  enough  time  had 
elapsed,  she  steamed  out  to  see  if  the  "  Young  Republic  "  had  taken  the 
bait.  Officers  and  crew  crowded  forward  to  catch  the  first  sight  around 
the  headland.  The  great  man-of-war  sped  through  the  water.  The  head- 
land was  rounded,  and  a  cheer  went  up  from  the  crowd  of  jackies  ;  for  there, 
in  the  offing,  was  the  blockade-runner,  gliding  through  the  water  like  a 
dolphin,  and  steaming  for  dear  life  to  Nassau.  Then  the  chase  began 
in  earnest.  The  "Young  Republic"  was  one  of  those  long,  sharp  steamers 
built  on  the  Clyde  expressly  for  running  the  blockade.  Her  crew  knew 
that  a  long  holiday  in  port,  with  plenty  of  money,  would  follow  a  successful 
cruise ;  and  they  worked  untiringly  to  keep  up  the  fires,  and  set  every  sail 
so  that  it  would  draw.  On  the  cruiser  the  jackies  saw  visions  of  a  prize 
worth  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars ;  and  the  thought  of  so  much  prize- 
money  to  spend,  or  to  send  home,  spurred  them  on.  For  several  hours 
the  chase  seemed  likely  to  be  a  long,  stern  one  ;  but  then  the  freshening 
wind  filled  the  sails  of  the  gunboat,  and  she  began  to  overhaul  the  fugitive. 
When  within  a  mile  or  two,  she  began  firing  great  shells  with  her  pivot-gun. 
Then  the  flying  blockade-runner  began  to  show  signs  of  fear ;  and  with 
a  good  glass  the  crew  could  be  seen  throwing  over  bale  after  bale  of  the 
precious  cotton,  to  lighten  the  vessel.  In  the  last  thirty  miles  of  the  chase 
the  sea  was  fairly  covered  with  cotton-bales.  More  than  three  hundred 
were  passed  floating  in  the  water;  and  the  jackies  gnashed  their  teeth,  and 
growled  gruffly,  at  the  sight  of  so  much  wealth  slipping  through  their 
fingers.  On  the  high  paddle-wheel  box  of  the  blockade-runner,  the  captain 
could  be  seen  coolly  directing  his  crew,  and  now  and  again  turning  to  take 
a  look  through  his  glass  at  the  pursuer.  As  the  chase  continued,  the 
certainty  of  capture  became  more  and  more  evident.  Then  the  fugitives 
began  throwing  overboard  or  destroying  every  thing  of  value  :  furniture, 


PURSUING   A   BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  1 07 


silver-ware,  chronometers,  the  fittings  of  the  cabin,  every  thing  that  could 
benefit  their  captors,  the  chagrined  blockade-runners  destroyed.  The 
officers  of  the  gunboat  saw  that  if  they  wished  to  gain  any  thing  by  their 
capture,  they  must  make  haste.  At  the  risk  of  an  explosion,  more  steam 
was  crowded  on  ;  and  the  gunboat  was  soon  alongside  the  "  Young  Repub- 
lic," and  in  a  position  to  give  her  an  enormous  broadside.  The  blockade- 
runner  saw  that  he  was  caught  and  must  submit.  For  lack  of  a  white  flag, 
a  pillow-case  was  run  up  to  the  masthead,  and  the  beating  of  the  great 
wheels  stopped.  The  davits  amidships  of  the  "Grand  Gulf"  are  swung  out, 
and  a  boat's  crew,  with  a  lieutenant  and  dapper  midshipman,  climb  in.  A 
quick  order,  "  Let  fall  there,"  and  the  boat  drops  into  the  water,  and  is 
headed  for  the  prize.  Another  moment,  and  the  stars  and  stripes  supplant 
the  pillow-case  waving  from  the  masthead  of  the  "Young  Republic."  An 
officer  who  went  into  the  boiler-room  found  that  the  captured  crew  had 
planned  to  blow  up  the  vessel  by  tying  down  the  safety-valve,  so  that  an 
enormous  pressure  of  steam  strained  the  boilers  almost  to  bursting.  A 
quick  blow  of  a  hatchet,  and  that  danger  was  done  away  with.  Then,  with 
a  prize-crew  on  board,  the  "  Young  Republic "  started  on  her  voyage  to 
New  York ;  while  the  "  Grand  Gulf "  returned  to  Wilmington  to  hunt  for 
fresh  game. 

A  curious  capture  was  that  of  the  British  schooner  "Francis,"  which 
was  running  between  Nassau  and  the  coast  of  Florida.  On  her  last  trip 
she  was  nearing  the  coast,  when  she  fell  in  with  a  fishing-smack,  and  was 
warned  that  a  Federal  gunboat  was  not  far  away.  Still  she  kept  on  her 
course  until  sundown,  when  the  breeze  went  down,  and  she  lay  becalmed. 
The  gunboat  had  been  steaming  into  inlets  and  lagoons  all  day,  and  had 
not  sighted  the  schooner.  When  night  came  on,  she  steamed  out  into  the 
open  sea,  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  blockade-runner,  and,  putting 
out  all  lights,  lay  to  for  the  night.  Those  on  the  schooner  could  see  the 
gunboat,  but  the  lookout  on  the  cruiser  did  not  see  the  blockade-runner. 
Soon  a  heavy  fog  came  up,  and  entirely  hid  the  vessels  from  each  other. 
The  blockade-runners  could  only  hope  that  a  breeze  might  spring  up,  and 
enable  them  to  escape.  But  now  a  curious  thing  occurred.  It  almost 


108  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

seems  as  if  two  vessels  on  the  ocean  exercise  a  magnetic  attraction  for 
each  other,  so  often  do  collisions  occur  where  there  seems  room  for  all  the 
navies  of  the  world  to  pass  in  review.  So  it  was  this  night.  The  anxious 
men  on  the  schooner  soon  found  that  the  two  vessels  were  drifting  together, 
and  they  were  absolutely  powerless  to  prevent  it.  At  midnight,  though 
they  could  see  nothing,  they  could  hear  the  men  on  the  gunboat  talking. 
Two  hours  after,  the  schooner  nestled  gently  up  by  the  side  of  the  gunboat ; 
and  a  slight  jar  gave  its  crew  their  first  intimation  that  a  prize  was  there, 
simply  waiting  to  be  taken.  All  they  had  to  do  was  to  climb  over  the 
railing.  This  was  promptly  done,  and  the  disgusted  blockade-runners 
were  sent  below  as  prisoners.  Half  an  hour  later  came  a  breeze  that 
would  have  carried  them  safely  to  port. 

The  gray  sea-fogs  played  many  scurvy  tricks  with  the  blockading- 
fleets,  often  letting  the  runners  in  right  under  the  muzzles  of  the  great 
guns.  It  was  far  easier  to  spy  out  a  vessel  in  the  darkest  night  than  in 
the  thick  gray  fog  that  enveloped  all  objects  like  a  blanket.  One  of  the 
strangest  of  all  the  pranks  played  by  the  fog  occurred  in  December,  1863, 
in  Charleston  Harbor.  A  wary  blockade-runner  was  creeping  out  of  the 
harbor,  within  easy  range  of  the  great  guns  of  the  fleet,  and  all  hands  were 
trembling,  lest  at  any  minute  should  come  the  flash  of  a  gun,  and  shriek  of 
a  shell,  bearing  a  peremptory  command  to  heave  to.  Suddenly  the  flash 
came,  and  was  followed  by  the  bang !  bang !  of  great  guns  from  all  quarters 
of  the  fleet.  But  the  fire  seemed  pointed  in  another  direction  ;  and  the 
runner  made  the  best  of  her  way  out  to  sea,  thinking  that  some  less  fortu- 
nate vessel,  trying  to  come  in  on  the  other  side  of  the  fleet,  had  been 
captured  or  blown  out  of  the  water.  It  turned  out  that  a  small,  fog-bank 
had  taken  the  form  of  a  gray  steamer  moving  swiftly  over  the  water,  and 
had  been  fiercely  cannonaded  by  the  whole  Federal  fleet.  This  occurrence 
gave  the  Confederates  an  idea;  and  they  began  sending  out  dummies  to 
engage  the  fleet,  while  the  true  blockade-runners  would  slip  out  unobserved 
in  the  excitement.  One  night  as  the  tide  was  running  out  with  great  force, 
an  old  hulk  was  cut  adrift  from  a  wharf,  and  drifted  down  rapidly  upon 
the  Federal  fleet  It  was  just  after  the  exploits  of  the  "Merrimac"  had 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  109 


made  Confederate  rams  famous,  and  the  naval  officers  were  a  little  nervous. 
The  hulk  drifted  quite  into  the  midst  of  the  fleet  before  being  observed ; 
and  when  she  was  hailed  she  bore  down  on  the  largest  of  the  men-of-war 
as  though  she  were  a  powerful  ram,  steered  by  a  commander  of  desperate 
bravery.  The  great  gunboat's  deck  rang  with  the  bo's'n's  whistle,  as  the 
crew  were  piped  to  repel  boarders,  and  to  their  quarters  at  the  guns.  A 
fierce  fire  was  poured  on  the  hostile  craft,  that  came  on  sullenly,  as  if 
scorning  to  make  reply.  One  by  one  the  other  vessels  of  the  fleet  drew 
near,  and  concentrated  their  fire  on  the  wretched  lumber  schooner.  It 
was  too  much  for  her ;  and  she  gave  up  the  unequal  combat,  and  sank  to 
the  bottom.  For  days  after,  the  gallant  tars  of  the  squadron  blockading 
Charleston  rejoiced  in  the  destruction  of  a  "Rebel  ram  ;"  but  none  of  them 
knew,  that,  while  they  were  engaged  in  the  desperate  contest,  two  great 
blockade-runners,  heavily  laden  with  cotton,  had  slipped  out  of  the  harbor, 
and  were  well  under  way  for  Nassau. 

Stories  of  adventure  and  of  desperate  pluck  and  dash  abound  in  the 
records  of  the  blockade.  Both  among  the  officers  of  the  blockading-fleets, 
and  the  commanders  of  the  runners,  were  found  great  courage  and  fine 
seamanship.  One  fact  is  particularly  noticeable  to  the  student  of  the 
blockade :  an  English  captain  running  the  blockade  would  never  dare 
the  dangers  that  a  Confederate  would  brave  without  a  tremor.  A  Con- 
federate captain  would  rush  his  ship  through  the  hostile  fleet,  and  stick 
to  her  until  she  sunk ;  while  an  Englishman  would  run  his  ship  ashore,  and 
take  to  the  woods.  The  cases  of  the  "  Hattie,"  commanded  by  H.  S. 
Lebby,  a  Confederate,  and  the  "  Princess  Royal,"  a  fine,  staunch,  iron 
steamer,  with  an  English  commander  and  crew,  are  typical.  The  "  Hattie  " 
was  the  last  runner  to  enter  or  leave  Charleston  Harbor.  She  was  a  small, 
swift  steamer ;  but  she  made  more  successful  trips  than  any  other  runner. 
Men  living  in  Charleston  to-day,  who  were  interested  in  the  work  of  this 
little  vessel  during  the  war,  say  that  her  cargoes  were  worth  at  least  fifty 
millions  of  dollars.  She  had  numerous  narrow  escapes,  but  was  never 
captured.  Her  reputation  was  such  that  the  Confederate  authorities 
selected  her  as  the  vessel  to  bring  in  army  supplies  and  ammunition, 


HO  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 

and  at  least  three  battles  were  fought  with  ammunition  brought  in  her 
hold.  Her  last  entrance  to  Charleston  was  one  night  in  February,  1865. 
Eighteen  Federal  vessels  lay  anchored  off  the  harbor,  and  for  a  runner  to 
venture  in  seemed  madness.  But  the  captain  of  the  "Hattie"  was  used 
to  taking  desperate  chances,  and  he  proposed  to  enter  that  harbor.  The 
ship  had  been  freshly  painted  a  blue-white,  and  as  she  drifted  along  the 
water,  with  all  lights  out,  looked  like  a  bank  of  mist.  She  was  within  two 
hundred  yards  of  the  outer  row  of  blockaders  before  her  presence  was 
detected.  Suddenly  fire  was  opened  on  her  from  the  nearest  gunboat,  and 
in  an  instant  the  air  was  full  of  rockets  announcing  her  presence.  The 
little  vessel  had  no  means  of  retaliation  :  all  there  was  for  her  to  do  was  to 
dash  through  the  fire  and  make  for  the  city.  Steam  was  crowded  on  ;  and 
she  flew  up  the  channel,  running  the  gauntlet  of  the  fleet,  and  escaping 
almost  untouched.  Then  came  the  real  peril.  Just  below  Fort  Sumter 
were  two  barges  anchored  in  the  channel,  and  filled  with  armed  men.  Past 
these  she  dashed,  her  great  speed  saving  her  from  boarding ;  but  she 
received  the  fire  of  both  boats,  which  wounded  several  of  her  crew,  and  cut 
off  the  fingers  of  the  pilot's  hand  resting  on  the  wheel.  This  danger  past,, 
there  was  one  more  to  be  met.  A  large  monitor  lay  anchored  up  the 
harbor,  and  the  "  Hattie  "  was  running  so  close  to  her  that  the  commands  of 
the  officers  in  the  turret  could  be  clearly  heard.  One  after  the  other  the 
two  great  guns  were  fired,  both  shots  missing;  and  the  "Hattie,"  safely  past 
the  gauntlet,  sailed  up  to  the  dock  in  triumph.  But  by  that  time  it  was 
clear  that  the  last  days  of  the  war  were  near  at  hand,  and  accordingly  the 
work  of  unloading  and  reloading  the  vessel  for  her  outward  trip  was  pressed 
with  the  greatest  vigor.  All  the  time  she  lay  at  her  dock,  Charleston  was 
being  vigorously  bombarded  by  the  Federal  men-of-war  lying  outside  the 
harbor.  The  bay  fairly  swarmed  with  blockading  cruisers  ;  yet  a  week  later 
the  little  steamer  slipped  out  through  a  fleet  of  twenty-six  cruisers  without 
being  hailed,  and  carried  her  cotton  safely  to  market.  When  the  news 
of  Lee's  surrender  was  received,  she  was  lying  safe  at  her  dock  in  Nassau. 

The  "  Princess  Royal,"  to  which  we  have  alluded,  was  a  large  iron  screw 
steamer,  freighted  with  drugs,  army  supplies,  guns,  and  two  engines  and 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  Ill 


boilers  for  two  iron-clads  in  Charleston  Harbor, — a  most  valuable  and  im- 
portant cargo  for  the  Confederates.  She  made  the  run  from  Nassau  to  a 
point  near  the  coast  without  adventure,  and  in  the  early  gray  of  the  morning 
was  stealing  up  the  coast  towards  the  harbor,  when  a  blockader  caught 
sight  of  her,  and  started  in  pursuit.  The  later  began  firing  when  a  mile 
and  a  half  away ;  and,  though  there  was  hardly  a  chance  of  the  shots  taking 
effect,  the  cannonade  gave  the  captain  of  the  runner  the  cold  shakes.  His 
boat  was  one  of  the  fastest  on  the  ocean,  and  he  needed  only  to  put  on 
steam  to  escape  all  the  blockaders  on  the  coast.  But  he  was  a  thorough 
paced  coward ;  and,  thinking  only  of  his  own  safety,  he  headed  the  craft 
for  the  beach,  and  with  his  crew  fled  into  the  woods.  The  valuable  ship 
and  her  cargo  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Federals. 

Sometimes  runners  were  captured  through  apparently  the  most  trivial 
accidents.  One  ship,  heavily  laden  with  army  supplies,  and  carrying  a 
large  number  of  passengers,  was  running  through  the  blockading-fleet,  and 
seemed  sure  of  escape.  All  lights  were  out,  the  passengers  were  in  the 
cabin,  not  a  word  was  to  be  heard  on  deck,  even  the  commands  of  the 
officers  being  delivered  in  whispers.  Suddenly  a  prolonged  cock-crow  rent 
the  air,  and,  with  the  silence  of  every  thing  surrounding,  sounded  like  a 
clarion  peal  from  a  trumpet.  The  deck-hands  rushed  for  a  box  of  poultry 
on  the  deck,  and  dragged  out  bird  after  bird,  wringing  their  necks.  The 
true  offender  was  almost  the  last  to  be  caught,  and  avenged  the  deaths 
of  his  brothers  by  crowing  vigorously  all  the  time.  The  noise  was  enough 
to  alarm  the  blockaders  ;  and  in  a  moment  the  hail,  "  Surrender,  or  we'll 
blow  you  out  of  water!"  brought  the  unlucky  runner  to  a  standstill, — a 
prisoner.  The  "  Southern  Cross  "  narrowly  escaped  capture  on  account  of 
the  stupidity  of  an  Irish  deck-hand,  whose  craving  for  tobacco  proved  too 
strong  for  his  discretion.  The  ship  was  steaming  slyly  by  two  cruisers, 
and  in  the  darkness  would  have  escaped  unseen,  when  the  deck-hand, 
who  had  been  without  a  smoke  as  long  as  he  could  stand  it,  lit  a  match 
and  puffed  away  at  his  pipe.  The  tiny  flame  was  enough  for  the  cruisers, 
and  they  began  a  spirited  cannonade.  The  "  Southern  Cross  "  ran  for  her 
life.  The  shooting  was  guess-work,  but  the  gunners  on  the  cruisers  showed 


112  BLUE-JACKETS  OF  '61. 

all  the  proverbial  Yankee  skill  at  guessing.  The  first  ball  carried  away 
the  roof  of  the  pilot-house,  and  the  second  ripped  away  the  railing  along 
the  deck  for  thirty  feet.  But  the  captain  was  plucky,  and  made  a  run  for 
it.  He  was  forced  to  pass  within  a  hundred  feet  of  one  of  the  cruisers ;  and 
as  he  saw  the  muzzles  of  the  great  guns  bearing  on  his  ship,  he  heard 
the  command,  "  Heave  to,  or  I'll  sink  you."  But  he  took  his  chances,  and 
escaped  with  only  the  damage  caused  by  a  solid  shot  crashing  through 
the  hull. 

One  of  the  strangest  experiences  of  all  was  that  of  the  captain  of  a 
blockade-runner  putting  in  to  Wilmington  one  bitter  cold  night,  when 
the  snow  was  blowing  in  clouds,  and  the  fingers  of  the  men  at  the  wheel 
and  the  sailors  on  watch  were  frostbitten.  The  runner  had  reached  the 
harbor  safely ;  but  there  in  channel  lay  a  blockader  in  such  a  position 
that  any  ship  coming  in  must  pass  within  a  hundred  feet  of  her.  The 
Confederate  had  a  light-draught  vessel,  and  tried  to  squeeze  through. 
When  he  passed  the  gunboat,  only  twelve  feet  of  space  separated  the  two 
vessels ;  and  he  saw  a  lookout,  with  his  arms  on  the  rail,  looking  right  at 
the  passing  vessel.  The  Confederate  expected  an  immediate  alarm,  but 
it  did  not  come.  Wondering  at  the  cause,  but  happy  in  his  luck,  he  sped 
on,  and  gained  the  harbor  safely.  Some  days  after,  he  learned  that  the 
lookout  was  a  dead  man,  frozen  at  his  post  of  duty. 

It  will  readily  be  understood  that  the  inducements  offered  to  blockade- 
runners  must  have  been  immense  to  persuade  men  to  run  such  risks.  The 
officers  and  sailors  made  money  easily,  and  spent  it  royally  when  they 
reached  Nassau.  "  I  never  expect  to  see  such  flush  times  again  in  my 
life,"  said  a  blockade-running  captain,  speaking  of  Nassau.  "  Money  was 
as  plentiful  as  dirt.  I  have  seen  a  man  toss  up  a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece 
on  "  heads  or  tails,"  and  it  would  be  followed  by  a  score  of  the  yellow  boys 
in  five  seconds.  There  were  times  when  the  bank-vaults  could  not  hold 
all  the  gold,  and  the  coins  were  dumped  down  by  the  bushel,  and  guarded 
by  soldiers.  Men  wagered,  gambled,  drank,  and  seemed  crazy  to  get  rid 
of  their  money.  I  once  saw  two  captains  bet  five  hundred  dollars  each 
on  the  length  of  a  certain  porch.  Again  I  saw  a  wager  of  eight  hundred 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


dollars  a  side  as  to  how  many  would  be  at  the  dinner-table  of  a  certain 
hotel.  The  Confederates  were  paying  the  English  big  prices  for  goods, 
but  multiplying  the  figures  by  five,  seven,  and  ten  as  soon  as  the  goods 
were  landed  in  Charleston.  Ten  dollars  invested  in  quinine  in  Nassau 
would  bring  from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred  dollars  in  Charleston.  A 
pair  of  four-dollar  boots  would  bring  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  dollars ;  a 
two-dollar  hat  would  bring  eight  dollars,  and  so  on  through  all  the  list  of 
goods  brought  in.  Every  successful  captain  might  have  made  a  fortune 
in  a  year ;  but  it  is  not  believed  that  five  out  of  the  whole  number  had 
a  thousand  dollars  on  hand  when  the  war  closed.  It  was  come  easy, 
go  easy." 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

DUPONT'S  EXPEDITION  TO  HILTON   HEAD  AND  PORT  ROYAL.  -  THE  FIERY  CIRCLE. 

HE  great  joint  naval  and  military  expedition,  which  in  August, 
1861,  had  reduced  the  forts  at  Hatteras  Inlet,  and,  continuing 
its  progress,  had,  by  successive  victories,  brought  Roanoke  Island, 
Newbern,  Elizabeth  City,  and  the  Sounds  of  Pamlico  and  Albe- 
marle  under  the  sway  of  the  Federal  Government,  was  but  the  first  of  a 
series  of  expeditions  intended  to  drive  the  Confederates  from  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  and  secure  for  the  United  States  vessels  safe  harbors  and  coaling 
stations  in  the  bays  and  inlets  along  the  South  Atlantic  coast.  The 
proper  maintenance  of  the  blockade  made  it  necessary  that  the  seaboard 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Federals.  For  a  blockader  off  Charleston 
or  Wilmington  to  be  forced  to  return  to  Hampton  Roads  to  coal  or  to 
make  repairs,  would  entail  the  loss  of  weeks,  perhaps  months,  of  valuable 
time.  Besides,  the  sounds  and  inlets  with  which  that  irregular  coast  is 
honey-combed  were  of  great  use  to  the  Confederates,  who  could  construct 
at  their  leisure  great  rams  like  the  "Merrimac"  or  "Albemarle,"  and 
hurl  them  against  the  fleet  with  the  hope  of  breaking  the  blockade.  Such 
opportunities  were  eagerly  seized  by  the  Confederates  whenever  offered ; 
and  in  many  cases  the  defeating  of  their  purposes  seems  almost  providen- 

"4 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  115, 


tial,  so  great  was  the  seeming  disparity  between   trie  attacking  ram   and 
the  forces  which  finally  repulsed  it. 

In  reviewing  the  part  of  the  navy  in  the  civil  war,  we  find  that  it 
acted  like  a  great  iron  band,  ever  drawing  closer  and  closer  about  the 
Confederacy,  forcing  the  Southern  armies  from  one  point  after  another, 
until  at  last  the  whole  coast  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Unionists,  and  the 
Confederates  were  driven  into  the  interior,  there  to  be  dealt  with  by  the 
Northern  armies.  One  is  reminded  of  that  iron  chamber  in  Foe's  story, 
which  day  by  day  grows  smaller  and  smaller,  until  the  wretched  prisoner 
within  is  forced  into  the  pit  yawning  in  the  centre.  So,  during  the 
war,  the  Confederates  lost  Hatteras  Inlet,  Roanoke  Island,  Hilton  Head,. 
Fernandina,  Mobile,  New  Orleans,  and  Galveston  comparatively  early  in 
the  struggle.  Wilmington,  behind  the  almost  impregnable  bastions  of 
Fort  Fisher,  and  Charleston,  surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  defensive  forts,. 
remained  the  last  strongholds  of  the  Confederacy  on  the  Atlantic  coast,, 
until  the  final  downfall  of  the  great  uprising. 

Shortly  after  the  capture  of  the  Hatteras  Forts,  the  navy  department 
saw  the  need  of  a  harbor  and  base  of  naval  operations  farther  south. 
Charleston,  with  its  powerful  defences,  was  deemed  impregnable  at  that 
time ;  and  elaborate  descriptions  of  the  Southern  coast  were  prepared,, 
setting  forth  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  available  Southern  ports. 
Fernandina,  Brunswick,  Port  Royal,  and  Bull's  Bay,  were  duly  considered ;. 
and,  while  the  Navy  Department  was  debating  which  point  to  seize,  Admiral 
Dupont  was  diligently  fitting  out  an  expedition  to  be  in  readiness  to  attack 
any  that  should  be  determined  upon.  Up  to  the  last  moment  it  was 
thought  that  Fernandina  would  be  selected.  But  finally,  with  the  advice- 
of  Gen.  Sherman,  it  was  determined  to  make  the  attempt  to  wrest  Port 
Royal  from  the  Confederates. 

Port  Royal  is  the  general  name  given  to  a  broad  body  of  water  formed 
by  the  confluence  of  the  Broad  and  Beaufort  Rivers,  and  opening  into- 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  South  Carolina  coast,  about  midway  between 
Charleston  and  Savannah.  No  more  beautiful  region  is  to  be  found  in 
the  world.  Far  enough  south  to  escape  the  rigors  of  the  northern  winters,. 


Il6  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

and  far  enough  north  to  be  free  from  the  enervating  heat  of  the  tropics ; 
honeycombed  by  broad,  salt-water  lagoons,  giving  moisture  and  mildness 
to  the  air,  —  the  country  about  Port  Royal  is  like  a  great  garden  ;  and  even 
to-day,  ravaged  though  it  was  by  the  storms  of  war,  it  shows  many  traces 
of  its  former  beauty.  It  is  in  this  region  that  are  found  the  famous  Sea 
Islands,  on  which  grows  cotton  so  much  more  fleecy  and  fine  of  fibre  than 
the  product  of  the  interior,  that  it  is  known  the  world  over  as  Sea  Island 
cotton,  and  sells  at  the  highest  price  in  the  markets  of  England.  In 
'61  the  islands  bore  the  great  hospitable  manor-houses  of  the  Southern 
planters  ;  broad  of  rooms  and  wide  of  piazzas,  and  always  open  for  the 
entertainment  of  travellers,  were  they  friends  or  strangers.  The  planters 
living  there  were  among  the  wealthiest  in  the  South,  at  a  time  when  all 
planters  were  wealthy.  They  numbered  their  slaves  by  thousands.  Stand- 
ing on  the  broad  piazza  of  one  of  these  Southern  homes,  one  could  see  the 
rows  of  rough  huts  that  made  up  the  negro  quarters,  and  hear  faintly 
the  sound  of  the  banjo  and  rude  negro  melodies,  mingling  with  the  music 
of  piano  or  harp  within  the  parlor  of  the  mansion-house.  Refined  by 
education  and  travel,  the  planters  of  the  region  about  Port  Royal  made 
up  a  courtly  society,  until  war  burst  upon  them,  and  reduced  their  estates 
to  wildernesses,  and  themselves  to  beggary. 

At  the  head  of  the  Beaufort  River  stood  the  little  town  of  Beaufort. 
Before  the  war  this  was  a  thriving  place;  its  magnificent  harbor  made  it 
easily  accessible  for  the  largest  merchant-ships,  and  the  richly  productive 
country  round  about  furnished  heavy  cargoes  of  the  fleecy  staple  that  gave 
to  the  South  the  name  of  the  "  cotton  kingdom."  On  Saturdays  and  holi- 
days the  broad  streets  of  Beaufort  would  be  crowded  with  carriages  and 
horsemen  from  the  neighboring  plantations.  The  planters,  in  broad-brimmed 
hats  and  suits  of  snowy  linen,  thronged  the  broad  piazzas  of  the  hotel,  or 
grouped  together  in  the  shade  of  the  spreading  trees  that  lined  the  streets, 
discussing  the  cotton  crops  and  prices.  Now  all  is  changed.  Beaufort  is  a 
sleepy  little  village,  with  no  sign  of  trade,  domestic  or  foreign  ;  and  the 
country  round  about,  once  dotted  with  handsome  plantation  homes,  now 
seems  a  very  wilderness,  save  where  Northerners  have  erected  for  them- 
selves winter  homes  on  the  Sea  Islands. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


It  was  late  in  October,  1861,  when  the  final  determination  to  attack  the 
forts  at  Port  Royal  was  reached.  For  weeks  before,  the  squadron  lying  at 
Hampton  Roads  had  been  making  preparations  for  a  great  naval  movement, 
and  all  the  newspapers  of  the  North  were  filled  with  wise  speculations  as  to 
its  objective  point.  Reporters,  correspondents,  and  editors  were  alike  baffled 
in  their  efforts  to  secure  accurate  information  ;  and  even  the  commanders  of 
the  men-of-war  were  ignorant  of  their  destination.  But  it  seems  that  the 
Confederates  were  warned  by  some  of  their  sympathizers  in  Washington, 
and  the  destination  of  the  fleet  was  better  known  south  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line  than  in  the  North.  On  Tuesday,  Oct.  29,  the  squadron  was  all 
ready  for  the  voyage.  It  was  by  far  the  most  powerful  fleet  ever  gathered 
under  the  flag  of  the  United  States.  Twenty-five  vessels  laden  with  coal 
had  sailed  the  day  before.  On  the  placid  waters  of  the  bay,  under  the 
frowning  walls  of  Fortress  Monroe,  floated  fifty  men-of-war  and  transports. 
The  day  was  clear,  and  the  breeze  brisk,  and  the  hearts  of  the  jolly  jack-tars 
bounded  within  them  as  they  thought  of  escaping  from  the  long  inactivity 
of  a  season  in  port.  Long-boats  bearing  despatches  rowed  from  ship  to 
ship;  hucksters  from  the  shore  came  off  in  dories,  dingies,  and  all  variety  of 
queer  craft,  to  drive  a  farewell  bargain  with  the  sailors.  The  transport 
vessels  were  crowded  with  soldiers  in  the  gay  uniforms  of  militia  commands. 
(It  was  early  in  the  war  then,  and  they  had  not  learned  that  a  man  could 
fight  as  well  in  dingy  rags.)  The  "  Wabash  "  was  flag-ship,  and  aboard  her 
was  Admiral  DtiPont.  When  she  made  the  signal  for  getting  under  way, 
all  was  bustle  and  animation  on  all  the  other  vessels  of  the  fleet,  and  on  all 
sides  could  be  heard  the  noise  of  preparation  for  the  start.  The  boatswains 
piped  away  cheerily  ;  and  a  steady  tramp,  tramp,  from  the  deck  of  each  ship, 
and  the  clicking  of  the  capstan  catches,  told  that  the  anchors  were  coming 
up.  Soon  from  the  black  funnels  of  the  steamers  clouds  of  smoke  began  to 
pour,  and  in  the  rigging  of  the  sail  frigates  were  crowds  of  nimble  sailors. 
The  commands  "All  ready!  Let  fall  !"  rang  sharply  over  the  water  from 
the  ships.  Broad  sheets  of  snowy  canvas  appeared  where  before  were  but 
ropes  and  spars,  and  in  a  moment  the  whole  squadron  was  under  way.  The 
steamers  led  off  briskly,  with  much  churning  of  the  water  by  their  paddle- 


n8 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


wheels  and  "brazen-fins;"  after  them  followed  the  magnificent  sailing- 
frigates,  with  sail  set,  —  lofty  masses  of  canvas  towering  toward  the  skies,  and 
moving  with  stately  grace.  At  the  very  head  of  all  went  the  flag-ship,  the 
grand  old  "Wabash,"  with  the  flag  of  Admiral  DuPont  floating  from  the 
fore.  None  of  the  commanders  knew  whither  they  were  bound.  All  were 


FORTRESS  MONROE 

to  follow  the  flag-ship,  and  in  event  of  separation  to  refer  to  sealed  orders 
with  which  each  was  provided.  For  the  first  day  all  went  well.  The  prom- 
ise of  fair  weather  given  by  the  beautiful  day  of  starting  seemed  about  to  be 
fulfilled.  But  on  the  second,  night,  as  they  came  near  the  terrible  region 
of  Cape  Hatteras,  the  wind  began  to  freshen,  and  continued  increasing  in 
fierceness  until  it  fairly  blew  a  gale.  The  night  was  pitchy  dark,  and  the 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  119 


crews  on  the  vessels  could  hardly,  see  the  craft  by  which  they  were  sur- 
rounded. Great  as  was  the  danger  of  being  cast  on  the  treacherous  shoals 
of  Hatteras,  the  peril  of  instant  destruction  by  collision  was  even  more  im- 
minent. Fifty  vessels,  heavily  freighted  with  human  lives,  were  pitching 
and  tossing  within  a  few  rods  of  each  other,  and  within  a  few  miles  of  a  lee 
shore.  It  seemed  that  the  destruction  of  a  large  number  of  the  vessels  was 
unavoidable ;  and  the  sailors  may  be  pardoned,  if,  remembering  the  mishaps 
of  the  Burnside  expedition,  they  conceived  Hatteras  to  be  tenanted  by  an 
evil  spirit,  determined  to  prevent  the  invasion  of  Confederate  territory.  To 
add  to  the  danger,  the  Confederates  had  extinguished  the  warning  light  at 
the  Cape,  and  the  navigators  of  the  fleet  had  nothing  to  guide  them  in  their 
course.  When  morning  came,  the  fleet  was  pretty  well  scattered,  although 
still  many  vessels  were  near  enough  together  to  be  in  no  small  danger.  The 
transport  "  Winfield  Scott,"  which  carried  four  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers, 
besides  a  large  crew,  was  observed  to  be  rolling  heavily,  and  flying  signals 
of  distress.  From  the  decks  of  the  "  Bienville,"  the  nearest  steamer,  the 
officers  with  their  glasses  could  see  the  crew  of  the  distressed  vessel  work- 
ing like  beavers,  throwing  overboard  every  thing  of  weight  to  lighten  the 
ship.  Notwithstanding  all  their  efforts,  she  was  clearly  water-logged,  and 
sunk  so  low  in  the  water  that  wave  after  wave  broke  over  her  decks,  every 
now  and  then  sweeping  a  man  away  to  sure  death  in  the  raging  sea.  It 
seemed  folly  to  attempt  to  launch  lifeboats  in  such  a  furious  sea,  but  the 
captain  of  the  "  Bienville  "  determined  to  make  the  attempt  to  save  the  men 
on  the  doomed  "Winfield  Scott."  The  crew  was  piped  to  quarters,  and  the 
captain  asked  for  volunteers  to  go  to  the  rescue.  Man  after  man  stepped 
forward,  until  enough  had  been  secured  to  man  three  boats  with  ten  men 
each.  Carefully  the  boats  were  dropped  into  the  sea,  and  man  after  man 
swung  into  chem  ;  then  they  put  off  and  started  for  the  sinking  ship.  But 
while  these  preparations  were  being  made,  the  two  ships  had  been  drifting 
closer  and  closer  together.  Soon  it  was  seen  that  a  collision  was  inevitable. 
Fortunately  the  boats  were  broadside  on,  so  that  the  cutting  effect  of  a  blow 
from  the  bow  was  avoided.  They  were  presently  so  near  each  other  that 
the  men  began  jumping  from  the  deck  of  the  "  Winfield  Scot  "  upon  that 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  12 1 

of  the  "Bienville."  The  leap,  though  a  perilous  one,  was  made  in  safety  by 
over  thirty  men.  Suddenly  a  great  wave  lifted  the  ships  up  and  dashed 
them  together.  Three  poor  wretches,  just  about  to  jump,  were  caught 
between  the  vessels  and  crushed  to  death.  A  few  sharp  cries  of  agony,  and 
all  was  over;  and  the  vessels,  drifting  apart,  let  their  bodies,  crushed  beyond 
recognition,  fall  into  the  water.  By  this  time  the  small  boats,  with  their 
determined  crews  on  board,  had  succeeded  in  getting  around  to  the  lee  side 
of  the  sinking  ship,  and  the  work  of  getting  the  soldiers  and  sailors  over 
the  side  was  begun.  By  the  most  strenuous  efforts  all  were  saved,  and  the 
"Bienville  "  steamed  away,  leaving  the  "  Winfield  Scott"  to  her  fate. 

Night  came  on,  with  the  gale  blowing  with  still  greater  fury.  The 
wind  shrieked  through  the  cordage,  and  now  and  again  a  great  wave  would 
sweep  across  the  decks  of  the  crowded  vessels,  making  the  men  hang 
on  to  the  rigging  for  dear  life.  Soon  another  ship  began  to  go  to  pieces. 
The  "Governor,"  which  had  been  steaming  along  near  the  "Wabash" 
since  the  time  of  leaving  Hampton  Roads,  had  become  separated  from 
her  consort  during  the  gale  of  the  first  day.  On  the  second  night,  those 
aboard  her  perceived  that  she  was  showing  signs  of  weakness,  and  was 
likely  to  go  down  with  all  on  board  unless  aid  could  be  obtained.  Not 
a  sail,  however,  was  in  sight ;  and  every  wave  seemed  about  to  overwhelm 
or  dash  to  pieces  the  frail  craft.  She  labored  heavily  in  the  furious  sea. 
By  and  by  the  strain  on  her  timbers  was  such  that  the  port  hog-brace  broke 
in  two  places,  weakening  the  vessel  so  that  her  fate  was  apparent  to  all. 
Soldiers  and  sailors  worked  away  with  a  frantic  energy  born  by  the  fear 
of  death,  and  succeeded  in  bracing  up  the  timbers,  so  as  to  avoid,  for  a  time, 
the  breaking-up.  Soon  after,  a  heavy  roll  of  the  vessel  broke  the  smoke- 
stack, and  it  was  pitched  overboard.  Luckily  it  broke  some  three  feet 
above  the  deck,  so  that  the  fires  could  still  be  kept  up.  Then  the  steam- 
pipe  burst ;  and  with  this  accident  the  fate  of  all  on  board  seemed  sealed, 
for  they  no  longer  could  keep  the  vessel's  head  to  the  waves,  and  the  great 
seas  came  rolling  over  her,  sweeping  her  decks  of  every  thing  movable. 
They  began  sending  up  rockets,  and,  after  some  time  of  anxious  waiting, 
saw  an  answering  signal ;  so  that,  through  the  remainder  of  that  fearful 


122  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

night,  the  men  on  the  doomed  ship  felt  that,  whatever  might  occur,  they 
had  friends  at  hand.  The  night  was  spent  in  toil  at  the  pumps ;  and  in 
the  morning  a  faint  cheer  went  up  as  two  vessels  were  seen,  ready  to  lend 
assistance.  A  signal  of  distress,  quickly  hoisted,  was  answered  from  the 
nearer,  which  proved  to  be  the  "Isaac  P.  Smith."  The  "Smith"  sent  off 
a  boat  and  made  fast  a  hawser  to  the  wreck,  and  took  her  in  tow ;  but  in  a 
few  minutes  the  hawser  parted.  It  became  clear  that  the  men  must 
be  taken  off  the  sinking  ship  ;  but  how  to  do  it,  was  the  question.  By  this 
time  a  second  ship,  the  "  Young  Rover,"  had  arrived  to  assist  in  the  rescue. 
A  second  cable  was  put  aboard ;  but  this,  too,  parted.  Hope  seemed  lost, 
when  the  lookout  reported  a  third  ship,  the  frigate  "  Sabine,"  coming  to 
the  rescue.  The  "  Sabine "  came  to  anchor,  and  sent  a  hawser  aboard 
the  sinking  "Governor."  Then  the  hawser  was  gradually  taken  in  until  the 
two  ships  lay  close  together,  stern  to  stern.  Spars  were  rigged  over  the 
stern  of  the  frigate,  and  some  thirty  men  swung  over  the  seething  waters 
to  safety.  Then  the  two  vessels  came  together  with  a  crash,  and  about 
forty  men  sprang  from  the  sinking  ship  to  the  deck  of  the  frigate.  But 
the  damage  done  by  the  collision  was  so  great  that  it  was  deemed  prudent 
to  slack  up  the  hawser  and  let  the  "  Governor  "  drop  astern  again.  Those 
on  board  busied  themselves  throwing  overboard  all  things  movable,  with 
the  intention  of  lightening  the  vessel.  After  some  hours  of  suspense,  the 
work  of  getting  the  men  off  the  sinking  craft  was  recommenced,  and  boats 
were  sent  to  their  assistance.  The  sea  was  running  too  high  for  them  to 
approach  close  to  the  steamer's  guards,  so  they  lay  off  some  feet,  and  the 
soldiers  jumped  into  them.  It  was  a  perilous  leap,  with  the  boats  pitching 
one  way,  and  the  ship  another,  and  a  raging- sea  of  tossing  waters  between  ; 
but  it  was  made  bravely  by  every  man,  and  but  seven  or  eight  were  lost. 
Soon  after  the  last  man  left  the  "  Governor,"  she  lurched  to  one  side  and 
sank,  carrying  with  her  the  arms  and  ammunition  of  the  troops  she  was 
transporting. 

It  was  on  Monday  morning,  Nov.  4,  that  the  flag-ship  "Wabash"  cast 
anchor  off  Port  Royal.  In  the  offing  were  a  few  more  sail  headed  for 
the  same  point,  and  during  the  day  some  twenty-five  vessels  of  the  scattered 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  123 


squadron  came  up.  For  the  next  day  ships  were  constantly  arriving,  and 
by  Tuesday  night  the  whole  squadron  lay  safely  anchored  in  the  broad 
harbor. 

The  defences  which  the  Confederates  had  erected  upon  Hilton  Head, 
a  lofty  bluff  overlooking  the  harbor,  were  powerfully  designed  earthworks, 
poorly  armed  and  manned.  The  forts  were  two  in  number,  placed  on  a 
commanding  elevation,  and  might  have  been  made  impregnable  bad  the 
Confederates  taken  advantage  of  the  warning  sent  them  by  their  spies 
in  Washington.  Fort  Walker  had  fourteen  guns  which  could  bear  on 
an  attacking  fleet,  and  Fort  Beauregard  had  twenty.  When  the  fight 
began,  the  gunners  found  that  most  of  their  ammunition  was  either  too 
large  or  too  small  for  the  guns.  To  support  the  forts  in  their  fight,  was 
.a  wretched  little  fleet  of  tugs  and  schooners,  mounting  a  gun  or  two  each, 
but  absolutely  powerless  before  the  smallest  of  Du  Font's  ships-of-war. 
Indeed,  when  the  battle  began,  the  Union  navy  gave  its  undivided  attention 
to  the  forts,  and  did  not  even  give  battle  to  Tatnall's  mosquito  fleet. 

Thursday  morning  dawned  bright  and  mild  as  a  morning  in  June. 
The  shores  of  the  beautiful  bay  were  covered  with  woods,  out  of  which 
rung  the  clear  notes  of  Southern  song-birds.  The  scene  from  the  ships  was 
one  of  the  most  charming  imaginable.  The  placid  bay,  the  luxuriant 
shores,  the  ocean  showing  across  the  low-lying  ridge  of  white  sand,  the 
forts  frowning  from  the  steep  headland,  the  fleet  of  majestic  frigates 
mustered  for  the  attack,  and  in  the  distance  the  flotilla  of  defenceless 
transports,  safely  out  of  range,  their  decks  and  rigging  crowded  with  fifteen 
thousand  men  —  all  this  presented  a  panorama  of  life  and  beauty  which 
few  eyes  have  ever  beheld. 

Du  Pont,  in  the  majestic  "  Wabash,"  moved  down  the  bay,  and,  as  he 
came  in  range  of  Fort  Walker,  sent  a  shell  shrieking  from  a  bow-gun,  as 
signal  that  the  action  was  begun.  The  old  frigate  moved  on  slowly,  making 
play  with  the  bow-guns  until  abreast  of  the  fort,  when  with  a  crash  she 
let  fly  her  whole  broadside.  On  she  went  for  a  few  yards,  then  turning 
in  a  grand  circle  came  back,  giving  the  other  broadside  to  the  forts  as  she 
passed.  The  other  ships  fell  in  behind ;  and  round  and  round  before  the 


124 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


forts  the  fiery  circle  revolved,  spitting  out  fire  and  ponderous  iron  bolts,, 
and  making  the  peaceful  shores  of  the  bay  tremble  with  the  deep  reverbera- 
tions of  the  cannon. 

The  Confederates,  for  their  part,  went  into  the  action  with  the  utmost 
coolness.     They  had  been  assured  that  their  position  was  impregnable,  and 


THE  OPENING  GUN. 

had  been  cautioned  to  be  deliberate  and  determined  in  their  defence.  For 
a  time  their  artillery  service  was  admirable.  But  soon  they  found  certain 
discouraging  features  about  the  affair.  Their  guns  were  too  light  to  have 
any  effect  on  the  fleet,  and  their  powder  was  of  such  bad  quality  that 
many  of  their  shots  fell  short.  Two  great  guns  dismounted  themselves, 


THE  FIGHT  AT  HILTON  HEAD. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  12 


seriously  injuring  the  men  who  were  handling  them,  and  the  very  first 
broadside  from  the  fleet  dismounted  several  more.  Then  it  was  found  that 
the  shells  for  the  great  Parrott  guns  were  too  large,  and  that  the  shells 
from  other  cannon  failed  to  explode,  owing  to  defective  fuses.  Soon  the 
fleet  found  a  point  of  fire  from  which  it  could  enfilade  the  forts,  and  there- 
after a  perfect  hail  of  shell  and  grape-shot  fell  in  the  trenches.  One  shell 
disabled  eleven  men.  A  solid  shot  struck  a  gun  thought  to  be  perfectly 
protected,  and  hurled.it,  with  the  men  serving  it,  over  the  parapet.  Every 
twenty  minutes  a  gun  was  dismounted  in  Fort  Walker,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  conflict  Fort  Beauregard  had  but  nine  serviceable  guns. 

For  about  four  hours  there  was  no  cessation  of  fire  on  the  part  of  the 
fleet.  Round  and  round  the  circle  the  vessels  steamed,  giving  one  fort 
a  broadside  on  the  way  up,  and  the  other  a  broadside  on  the  way  down. 
The  bombs  rose  from  them  in  a  majestic  sweep  through  the  air,  and 
plunged  into  the  fort,  exploding  with  a  roar  equal  to  that  of  a  "cannon. 
One  ship  was  commanded  by  Capt.  Drayton,  who  rained  shot  and  shell 
mercilessly  against  the  forts,  although  one  of  them  was  in  command  of 
his  own  brother. 

At  half-past  one  Fort  Walker  was  found  untenable,  and  the  work  of 
abandoning  it  was  begun.  The  evacuation  was  completed  in  great  haste, 
many  valuables  were  left  behind,  and  not  even  the  guns  were  spiked.  Still 
the  entire  garrison  escaped  to  mainland,  although  the  Federals  had  three 
thousand  troops  who  might  have  made  them  all  prisoners.  Not  long 
thereafter,  Fort  Beauregard  also  yielded  to  fate,  and  the  day  was  won  by 
the  Federals. 

The  landing  of  the  troops  was  at  once  begun.  Thirty  large  boats 
bore  a  Connecticut  regiment  of  one  thousand  men  to  the  beach.  Their 
bright,  fresh  uniforms,  their  muskets  glittering  in  the  sun,  and  their 
regular,  swaying  stride  as  they  marched  up  the  sandy  beach  to  the  martial 
strains  of  the  regimental  band,  made  a  striking  picture.  They  clambered 
over  the  ramparts,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  stars  and  stripes  floated 
from  the  staff  which  had  but  lately  upheld  the  flag  of  the  young  Con- 
federacy. Within  the  forts,  all  was  carnage  and  confusion  :  dismounted 


128  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

cannon,  surrounded  by  the  dead  bodies  of  the  gunners,  heaps  of  shells, 
and  fragments  of  wood-work,  were  piled  about  the  parade-ground  and 
in  the  trenches.  The  story  of  the  terrific  bombardment  was  graphically 
told  by  those  horrible  evidences  of  death  and  destruction.  And  well 
might  the  scene  be  a  horrible  one.  For  over  five  hours,  fifty  shot  a  minute 
had  been  discharged  at  the  forts,  and  most  of  them  did  execution.  When 
one  recollects  that  each  shot  of  the  great  guns  cost  eight  dollars,  we  get 
a  vivid  idea  of  the  money  spent  in  war. 

Immediately  upon  the  capture  of  Hilton  Head,  the  victors  began 
making  it  a  great  naval  and  military  station.  Great  storehouses  were 
built,  wharves  constructed,  and  vast  intrenchments  thrown  up  for  the 
defence  of  the  spot.  The  slaves,  escaping  from  the  neighboring  planta- 
tions, came  in  droves,  begging  to  be  allowed  to  work ;  but  they  received 
but  a  cold  welcome,  for  they  were  still  looked  upon  as  property,  and  the 
officers  did  not  wish  to  be  charged  with  enticing  them  away  from  their 
masters. 

The  news  of  the  occupation  of  Hilton  Head  by  the  Northern  armies 
caused  the  greatest  consternation  in  the  cities  of  Charleston  and  Savannah. 
From  both  places  people  fled  into  the  interior,  expecting  an  immediate 
advance  of  the  Union  troops.  But  the  armies  were  set  to  digging,  not 
to  marching,  and  soon  the  affrighted  citizens  returned  to  their  homes. 
Port  Royal  was  held  by  the  Northern  forces  until  the  end  of  the  war,  and 
proved  of  great  value  for  the  proper  maintenance  of  the  blockade.  Its 
greatest  disadvantage  was  its  unhealthiness.  Of  fifteen  thousand  men 
landed  there  in  November,  five  thousand  were  on  the  sick-list  within  a 
month. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE  FIRST  IRON-CLAD  VESSELS  IN  HISTORY.  — THE  "  MERRIMAC  "  SINKS  THE  "CUMBERLAND," 
AND  DESTROYS  THE  "  CONGRESS."  — DUEL  BETWEEN  THE  "MONITOR"  AND  "MERRIMAC." 

T  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  Union  forces,  alarmed  by  the 
threatening  attitude  of  the  inhabitants  of  Norfolk  and  the  vicinity, 
fled  from  the  Norfolk  navy-yard,  leaving  every  thing  there  in  flames, 
they  left  behind  them  a  fine  United  States  frigate,  "  Merrimac,"  a 
ship  of  thirty-five  hundred  tons,  carrying  forty  guns.  The  departing  Feder- 
als did  their  work  of  destruction  fairly  well ;  for  the  great  ship  was  burnt  to 
the  upper  edge  of  her  copper  sheathing,  and  sank  to  the  bottom  of  the  river. 
Three  or  four  months  after  the  occupation  of  the  Norfolk  navy-yard  by  the 
Confederates,  Lieut.  George  M.  Brooke,  an  ex-officer  'of  the  United  States 
navy,  who  had  resigned  that  he  might  follow  the  fortunes  of  his  State,  while 
looking  at  the  hulk  lying  in  the  river-channel,  was  suddenly  inspired  with 
the  thought  that  she  might  be  raised  and  converted  into  a  formidable  vessel- 
of-war.  He  carefully  matured  his  plans,  and  after  due  consideration  pro- 
posed to  the  Confederate  secretary  of  the  navy,  that  the  "  Merrimac "  be 
raised  and  converted  into  an  iron-clad.  His  plans  were  approved,  and  orders 
were  given  that  they  should  be  carried  out.  The  "Merrimac,"  as  originally 
built,  was  one  of  the  grand  old  types  of  war-vessels.  Her  solid  oak  sides 
rose  high  above  the  water,  and  were  pierced  by  a  long  row  of  gaping  port- 

129 


130  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

holes.  Her  masts  towered  high  in  the  air ;  and  when  her  great  sails  were 
set,  her  hull  seemed  crushed  beneath  so  vast  an  expanse  of  canvas.  When 
she  had  been  remodelled,  her  entire  appearance  was  changed.  She  had  no 
longer  the  appearance  of  a  ship,  but  seemed  like  a  house  afloat  ;  and  tradi- 
tion says  that  the  old  salt  on  the  "  Cumberland,"  who  first  sighted  her,  re- 
ported gravely  io  the  officer  of  the  deck,  "Quaker  meetin'-house  floating 
down  the  bay,  sir." 

When  the  hulk  had  been  raised  and  placed  in  the  dry-dock,  the  first  thing 
done  was  to  cut  it  down  to  the  level  of  the  berth-deck ;  that  is,  to  the  level 
of  the  deck  below  the  gun-deck  in  the  old  rig.  Then  both  ends  of  the  ship 
were  decked  over  for  a  distance  of  seventy  feet ;  while  the  midship  section 
was  covered  by  a  sort  of  roof,  or  pent-house,  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet 
long,  and  extending  about  seven  feet  above  the  gun-deck.  This  roof  was  of 
pitch  pine  and  oak,  twenty-four  inches  thick,  and  covered  with  iron  plates 
two  inches  thick.  The  upper  part  of  the  roof,  being  flat,  was  railed  in,  mak- 
ing a  kind  of  promenade  deck.-  In  the  great  chamber  formed  by  this  roof 
were  mounted  ten  guns,  two  of  which,  the  bow  and  stern  guns,  were  seven- 
inch  rifles,  and  fairly  powerful  guns  for  those  days.  A  strange  feature  of 
this  ship,  and  one  that  was  not  discovered  until  she  was  launched,  was  that 
the  weight  of  the  iron-plating  and  the  heavy  guns  she  carried  sunk  her  so 
deep  in  the  water  that  the  low  deck  forward  and  aft  of  the  gun-room  was 
always  under  water ;  so  much  so  that  the  commander  of  another  ship  in  the 
Confederate  navy  writes  that  he  was  obliged  always  to  give  the  "Merrimac" 
a  wide  berth,  lest  he  should  run  his  ship  on  some  part  of  the  ram  which  lay 
unseen  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water.  Powerful  as  this  ship  was,  she  had 
some  serious  defects.  The  greatest  of  these  were  her  engines.  They  were 
the  same  that  had  been  in  her  as  a  United  States  vessel,  and  had  been  con- 
demned by  a  naval  board  as  very  defective.  Naturally  several  weeks  under 
water  had  not  improved  them  ;  but  the  Confederates  could  not  be  particular 
about  machinery  just  then,  and  the  old  engines  were  left  in  the  new  ram. 
It  was  quickly  found  that  they  could  not  be  depended  upon  more  than  six 
hours  at  a  time ;  and  one  of  the  ship's  officers,  in  writing  years  afterwards, 
remarks,  "  A  more  ill-contrived  or  unreliable  pair  of  engines  could  only  have 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  131 

been  found  in  some  vessels  of  the  United  States  navy."  The  second  faulty 
feature  about  the  "Merrimac"  was  that  her  rudder  and  propeller  were 
entirely  unprotected.  The  ram  which  was  so  much  dreaded,  and  which 
made  the  "  Merrimac  "  a  forerunner  of  a  new  class  of  war-vessels,  was  of 
cast-iron,  projecting-  four  feet,  and  so  badly  secured  that  it  was  loosened 
in  ramming  the  "  Cumberland,"  and  started  a  bad  leak  in  the  Confederate 
ship. 

When  this  formidable  vessel  was  completed,  she  was  christened  by  her 
new  owners  the  "Virginia;"  but  the  name  of  the  old  United  States  frigate 
•of  which  she  was  built  stuck  to  her,  and  she  has  ever  since  been  known  as 
the  "  Merrimac,"  and  so  we  shall  speak  of  her  in  this  narrative.  She 
received  as  commander  Commodore  Franklin  Buchanan,  an  ex-Union 
officer  of  ability  and  daring,  to  whom  the  cadets  of  the  naval  academy 
.at  Annapolis  owe  the  beautiful  situation  of  the  academy,  and  many  of 
its  admirable  features;  for  he  it  was,  who,  in  1845,  under  a  commission 
from  Mr.  Bancroft,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  organized  and  located  the  naval 
academy,  and  launched  that  institution  upon  its  successful  career.  Of 
officers  the  "Merrimac"  had  no  lack,  and  good  ones  they  were;  but  in  her 
crew  she  was  lamentably  deficient.  Most  of  the  crew  was  made  up  of 
men  from  the  army,  who  knew  nothing  of  seamanship,  but  who  could  at 
any  rate  fire  a  gun.  A  few  good  sailors  were  obtained  from  those  who 
escaped  to  Norfolk  after  the  destruction  of  the  Confederate  flotilla  at 
Elizabeth  City  by  Capt.  Rowan's  squadron.  They  had  but  little  chance 
for  drills  and  exercise  on  the  new  ship,  for  up  to  the  very  hour  of  sailing 
she  was  crowded  with  workmen  getting  her  ready  for  the  task  of  breaking 
down  the  Yankee  blockade.  When  she  finally  set  out  to  do  battle  for  the 
South,  she  was  a  new  and  untried  ship  :  not  a  gun  had  been  fired,  and 
hardly  a  revolution  of  her  engines  had  been  made.  And  so  she  started 
•down  the  river  on  her  trial  trip,  but  intending,  nevertheless,  to  do  battle 
•with  the  strongest  ships  of  the  United  States  navy.  Accompanying  her 
were  four  small  Confederate  gunboats,  —  the  "Beaufort,"  the  "  Yorktown," 
the  "Jamestown,"  and  the  "Teaser."  Soon  rounding  out  into  Hampton 
Roads,  the  little  squadron  caught  sight  of  the  Northern  fleet  at  anchor,  and 


132  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

made  for  them.  An  officer  on  the  "  Congress  "  thus  tells  the  story  of  the 
events  that  followed  :  — 

"The  8th  of  March  was  a  fine  mild  day,  such  as  is  common  in  Southern 
Virginia  during  the  early  spring;  and  every  -one  on  board  our  ship  was 
enjoying  the  weather,  and  pleasing  himself  with  the  prospect  of  going 
North  in  a  day  or  two  at  farthest,  and  being  relieved  from  the  monotony 
of  a  blockade  at  anchor.  Some  of  us  were  pacing  the  poop,  basking 
in  the  sun,  and  watching  the  gulls,  which  here,  as  all  over  the  world, 
wherever  a  man-of-war  is  anchored,  manage  to  find  out  when  it  is  dinner- 
time, appearing  regularly  when  the  mess-tins  are  being  washed,  and  the 
cooks  are  taking  the  buckets  of  broken  victuals  to  the  head  to  throw  over- 
board. Then  they  chatter  and  scream,  and  fight  for  the  remnants  as  they 
drift  astern,  until  all  is  consumed,  when  they  betake  themselves  to  fresh 
fields  out  of  sight  until  we  pipe  to  dinner  again. 

"  One  bell  had  struck  some  'time,  when  the  attention  of  the  quarter- 
master on  watch  was  drawn  to  an  unusual  appearance  against  the  fringe 
of  woods  away  over  in  the  Norfolk  Channel.  After  gazing  intently  some 
time,  he  approached  the  officer  of  the  deck,  and  presenting  him  the  glass 
said, '  I  believe  that  thing  is  a-comin'  down  at  last,  sir.' 

"  Sure  enough  !  There  was  a  huge  black  roof,  with  a  smokestack  emer- 
ging from  it,  creeping  down  towards  Sewall's  Point.  Three  or  four  satel- 
lites, in  the  shape  of  small  steamers  and  tugs,  surrounded  and  preceded 
her.  Owing  to  the  intervening  land,  they  could  not  be  seen  from  Hampton 
Roads  until  some  time  after  we  had  made  them  out ;  but,  when  they  did 
show  themselves  clear  of  the  point,  there  was  a  great  stir  among  the 
shipping.  But  they  turned  up  into  the  James  River  channel  instead  of 
down  toward  the  fort,  approaching  our  anchorage  with  ominous  silence  and 
deliberation. 

"The  officers  were  by  this  time  all  gathered  on  the  poop,  looking  at 
the  strange  craft,  and  hazarding  all  sorts  of  conjectures  about  her ;  and 
when  it  was  plain  that  she  was  coming  to  attack  us,  or  to  force  the  passage, 
we  beat  to  quarters,  the  "  Cumberland's  "  drum  answering  ours. 

"By  a  little  after  four  bells,  or  two  o'clock,  the  strange  monster  was 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  133 


close  enough  for  us  to  make  out  her  plating  and  ports ;  and  we  tried  her 
with  a  solid  shot  from  one  of  our  stern-guns,  the  projectile  glancing  off 
her  forward  casemate  like  a  drop  of  water  from  a  duck's  back.  This 
opened  our  eyes.  Instantly  she  threw  aside  the  screen  from  one  of  her 
forward  ports,  and  answered  us  with  grape,  killing  and  wounding  quite 
a  number.  She  then  passed  us,  receiving  our  broadside  and  giving  one 
in  return,  at  a  distance  of  less  than  two  hundred  yards.  Our  shot  had 
apparently  no  effect  upon  her,  but  the  result  of  her  broadside  on  our 
ship  was  simply  terrible.  One  of  her  shells  dismounted  an  eight-inch 
gun,  and  either  killed  or  wounded  every  one  of  the  gun's  crew,  while  the 
slaughter  at  the  other  guns  was  fearful.  There  were  comparatively  few 
wounded,  the  fragments  of  the  huge  shells  she  threw  killing  outright  as- 
a  general  thing.  Our  clean  and  handsome  gun-deck  was  in  an  instant 
changed  into  a  slaughter-pen,  with  lopped-off  legs  and  arms,  and  bleeding, 
blackened  bodies,  scattered  about  by  the  shells;  while  blood  and  brains 
actually  dripped  from  the  beams.  One  poor  fellow  had  his  chest  transfixed 
by  a  splinter  of  oak  as  thick  as  the  wrist ;  but  the  shell-wounds  were  even 
worse.  The  quartermaster,  who  had  first  discovered  the  approach  of  the 
iron-clad,  —  an  old  man-of-war's  man,  named  John  Leroy,  —  was  taken  below 
with  both  legs  off.  The  gallant  fellow  died  in  a  few  minutes,  but  cheered 
and  exhorted  the  men  to  stand  by  the  ship,  almost  with  his  last  breath. 
The  '  Merrimac '  had,  in  the  mean  time,  passed  up  stream  ;  and  our  poor 
fellows,  thinking  she  had  had  enough  of  it,  and  was  for  getting  away,, 
actually  began  to  cheer.  For  many  of  them  it  was  the  last  cheer  they 
were  ever  to  give.  We  soon  saw  what  her  object  was;  for  standing  up 
abreast  of  the  bow  of  the  '  Cumberland,'  and  putting  her  helm  aport,  she 
ran  her  ram  right  into  that  vessel.  The  gallant  frigate  kept  up  her  splen- 
did and  deliberate,  but  ineffectual,  fire,  until  she  filled  and  sank,  which 
she  did  in  a  very  few  minutes.  A  small  freight-steamer  of  the  quarter- 
master's department,  and  some  tugs  and  boats  from  the  camp-wharf,  put 
off  to  rescue  the  survivors,  who  were  forced  to  jump  overboard.  In  spite 
of  shot  from  the  Confederate  gunboats,  one  of  which  pierced  the  boiler  of 
the  freight-boat,  they  succeeded  in  saving  the  greater  number  of  those 


134  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


who  were  in  the  water.  Seeing  the  fate  of  the  '  Cumberland,'  which  sank 
in  very  deep  water,  we  set  our  topsails  and  jib,  and  slipped  the  chains, 
under  a  sharp  fire  from  the  gunboats,  which  killed  and  wounded  many. 
With  the  help  of  the  sails,  and  the  tug  '  Zouave,'  the  ship  was  now  run 
on  the  flats  which  make  off  from  Newport  News  Point.  Here  the  vessel 
keeled  over  as  the  tide  continued  to  fall,  leaving  us  only  two  guns  which 
could  be  fought, — those  in  the  stern  ports.  Two  large  steam-frigates  and 
a  sailing-frigate,  towed  by  tugs,  had  started  up  from  Hampton  Roads  to 
our  assistance.  They  all  got  aground  before  they  had  achieved  half  the 
distance ;  and  it  was  fortunate  that  they  did  so,  for  they  would  probably 
have  met  the  fate  of  the  'Cumberland,'  in  which  case  the  lives  of  the 
twelve  or  thirteen  hundred  men  comprising  their  crews  would  have  been 
uselessly  jeopardized. 

"  After  the  '  Merrimac  '  had  sunk  the  '  Cumberland,'  she  came  down 
the  channel  and  attacked  us  again.  Taking  up  a  position  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  astern  of  us,  she  deliberately  raked  us  with  eighty- 
pounder  shell ;  while  the  steamers  we  had  so  long  kept  up  the  river,  and 
those  which  had  come  out  with  the  iron-clad  from  Norfolk,  all  concentrated 
the  fire  of  their  small  rifled  guns  upon  us.  At  this  time  we  lost  two 
officers,  both  elderly  men.  One  was  an  acting  master,  who  was  killed  on  the 
quarter-deck  by  a  small  rifle-bolt  which  struck  him  between  the  shoulders, 
and  went  right  through  him.  The  other  was  our  old  coast  pilot,  who  was 
mortally  wounded  by  a  fragment  of  shell.  We  kept  up  as  strong  a  fire  as 
we  could  from  our  two  stern-guns ;  but  the  men  were  repeatedly  swept 
away  from  them,  and  at  last  both  pieces  were  disabled,  one  having  the 
muzzle  knocked  off,  and  the  other  being  dismounted.  Rifles  and  carbines 
were  also  used  by  some  of  our  people  to  try  to  pick  off  the  '  Merrimac's  ' 
crew  when  her  ports  were  opened  to  fire,  but  of  course  the  effect  of  the 
small-arms  was  not  apparent  to  us. 

"  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  describe  the  condition  of  our  decks  by  this 
time.  No  one  who  has  not  seen  it  can  appreciate  the  effect  of  such  a  fire 
in  a  confined  space.  Men  were  being  killed  and  maimed  every  minute, 
those  faring  best  whose  duty  kept  them  on  the  spar  deck.  Just  before 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  135 


our  stern-guns  were  disabled,  there  were  repeate'd  calls  for  powder  from 
them ;  and,  none  appearing,  I  took  a  look  on  the  berth-deck  to  learn  the 
cause.  After  my  eyes  had  become  a  little  accustomed  to  the  darkness, 
and  the  sharp  smoke  from  burning  oak,  I  saw  that  the  line  of  cooks  and 
wardroom  servants  stationed  to  pass  full  boxes  had  been  raked  by  a  shellr 
and  the  whole  of  them  either  killed  or  wounded,  —  a  sufficient  reason  why 
there  was  a  delay  with  the  powder.  (I  may  mention  here  that  the  officer 
who  commanded  our  powder  division  was  a  brother  of  the  captain  of  the 
'Merrimac.')  The  shells  searched  the  vessel  everywhere.  A  man  pre- 
viously wounded  was  killed  in  the  cock-pit  where  he  had  been  taken  for 
surgical  aid.  The  deck  of  the  cock-pit  had  to  be  kept  sluiced  with  water 
from  the  pumps,  to  extinguish  the  fire  from  the  shells,  although  dreadfully 
wounded  men  were  lying  on  this  deck,  and  the  water  was  icy  cold  ;  but 
the  shell-room  hatch  opened  out  of  the  cock-pit,  and  fire  must  be  kept  out 
of  there  at  all  hazards,  or  the  whole  of  us  would  go  into  the  air  together. 
In  the  wardroom  and  steerage,  the  bulkheads  were  all  knocked  down  by 
the  shells,  and  by  the  axe-men  making  way  for  the  hose,  forming  a  scene  of 
perfect  ruin  and  desolation.  Clothing,  books,  glass,  china,  photographs, 
chairs,  bedding,  and  tables  were  all  mixed  in  one  confused  heap.  Some 
time  before  this,  our  commanding  officer,  a  fine  young  man,  had  been 
instantly  killed  by  a  fragment  of  shell  which  struck  him  in  the  chest. 
His  watch,  and  one  of  his  shoulder-straps  (the  other  being  gone),  were 
afterwards  sent  safely  to  his  father,  a  veteran  naval  officer. 

"We  had  now  borne  this  fire  for  nearly  an  hour,  and  there  was  no 
prospect  of  assistance  from  any  quarter,  while  we  were  being  slaughtered 
without  being  able  to  return  a  shot.  Seeing  this,  the  officer  who  had 
succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  ship,  upon  consultation  with  our  former 
captain  (who  was  on  board  as  a  guest),  ordered  our  flag  to  be  struck.  It  is 
not  a  pleasant  thing  to  have  to  strike  your  flag ;  but  I  did  not  see  then,  and 
do  not  see  now,  what  else  we  were  to  do. 

"  A  boat  now  boarded  us  with  an  officer  from  the  '  Merrimac,'  who  said 
he  would  take  charge  of  the  ship.  He  did  nothing,  however,  but  gaze 
about  a  little,  and  pick  up  a  carbine  and  cutlass,  —  I  presume  as  trophies. 


136  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


One  of  the  small  gunboats  then  came  alongside,  and  the  officer  from  the 
'Merrimac'  left.  The  commander  of  the  gunboat  said  that  we  must  get 
out  of  the  ship  at  once,  as  he  had  orders  to  burn  her.  Some  of  our 
people  went  on  board  of  his  craft  as  prisoners,  but  not  many.  As  her 
upper  deck  was  about  even  with  our  main-deck  ports,  our  surgeon  stepped 
out  of  one,  and  told  the  commanding  officer  that  we  had  some  dreadfully 
wounded  men,  and  that  we  must  have  time  to  collect  them,  and  place  them 
on  board  his  vessel,  and,  moreover,  that  our  ship  was  on  fire  with  no 
possibility  of  saving  her.  The  reply  was,  '  You  must  make  haste :  those 
scoundrels  on  shore  are  firing  at  me  now.'  In  fact,  the  rifle-balls  were 
'  pinging '  about  very  briskly,  scarring  the  rusty  black  sides  of  the  poor  old 
frigate  ;  for  the  Twentieth  Indiana  Regiment  had  come  down  from  the 
camp  to  the  point,  and  opened  fire  on  the  gunboat  as  she  lay  alongside  of 
us.  Our  doctor  having  no  desire  to  be  killed,  especially  by  our  own 
people,  jumped  back  into  the  port,  just  as  the  steamer,  finding  it  too  hot, 
shoved  off  and  left  us.  As  soon  as  she  did  so,  they  all  opened  upon  us 
again ;  although  we  had  a  white  flag  flying  to  show  we  were  out  of  action, 
and  we  certainly  could  not  be  held  responsible  for  the  action  of  the  regi- 
ment on  shore.  After  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  however,  they  all  withdrew, 
and  went  down  the  channel,  to  bestow  their  attentions  upon  the  frigate 
'  Minnesota '  which  was  hard  aground.  Fortunately  the  '  Merrimac  '  drew 
too  much  water  to  come  near  the  'Minnesota'  at  that  stage  of  tide,  and 
the  small-fry  were  soon  driven  off  by  the  latter  ship's  battery.  Night  now 
approaching,  the  whole  Rebel  flotilla  withdrew,  and  proceeded  up  the 
Norfolk  Channel. 

"Although  relieved  from  the  pressure  of  actual  battle,  we  still  had  the 
unpleasant  consciousness  that  the  fire  was  making  progress  in  the  vicinity 
of  our  after-magazine ;  and  we  felt  as  I  suppose  men  would  feel  who  are 
walking  in  the  crater  of  a  volcano  on  the  verge  of  eruption.  Fortunately 
for  us,  the  'Merrimac'  and  her  consorts  had  not  fired  much  at  our  upper 
works  and  spars,  the  principal  damage  being  inflicted  upon  our  lower  decks. 
We  had,  therefore,  the  launch  and  first  cutter,  —  large  boats,  —  which,  with 
a  little  stuffing  of  shot-holes,  were  fit  to  carry  us  the  short  distance  between 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  137 


our  ship  and  the  shore.  The  yard  and  stay-tackles  were  got  up,  and  the 
boats  put  into  the  water,  as  soon  as  possible ;  the  fire  gaining,  and  the  sun 
going  down,  in  the  mean  time. 

"  By  successive  boatloads  the  survivors  were  all  landed ;  the  launch  being 
brought  up  under  the  bill  port,  and  the  wounded,  in  cots,  lowered  into  her 
by  a  whip  from  the  fore  yard,  which  was  braced  up  for  the  purpose.  This 
boat  was  nearly  filled  with  water  on  her  last  trip,  being  a  good  deal  dam- 
aged;  obliging  some  of  the  officers,  who  had  stayed  until  the  last,  to  jump 
overboard  into  the  icy  cold  water,  and  lean  their  hands  on  the  gunwale,  so 
as  to  relieve  the  boat  of  a  part  of  their  weight.  She  grounded  in  water  about 
waist-deep  ;  and  the  soldiers  from  the  camp  waded  out  and  assisted  our  men 
in  bearing  on  shore,  and  to  the  log  hospital  of  the  Twentieth  Indiana,  those 
who  were  in  cots.  We  had  managed  to  get  the  body  of  our  gallant  young 
commander  on  shore  in  one  of  the  cots,  as  a  wounded  man.  The  mass  of 
the  men  were  so  '  gallied,'  to  use  a  sailor  phrase,  by  the  time  the  action  was 
over,  what  with  enduring  so  severe  a  fire  without  being  able  to  respond,  and 
also  with  the  knowledge  that  an  explosion  of  the  magazine  might  occur  at 
'  any  time,  that  I  doubt  whether  they  could  have  been  induced  to  bring  off  a 
man  whom  they  knew  to  be  dead.  The  officers  repeatedly  went  about  the 
decks  looking  for  wounded  men  ;  and  I  firmly  believe  that  all  who  were  alive 
were  brought  off.  Our  poor  old  ship,  deserted  by  all  but  the  dead,  burned 
till  about  midnight,  when  she  blew  up." 

The  final  destruction  of  the  "Congress"  must  have  been  a  most  imposing 
spectacle.  A  member  of  the  Confederate  army,  who  was  stationed  in  one 
of  the  batteries  near  the  scene  of  action,  thus  describes  it :  "  Night  had 
come,  mild  and  calm,  refulgent  with  all  the  beauty  of  Southern  skies  in  early 
spring.  The  moon,  in  her  second  quarter,  was  just  rising  over  the  rippling 
waters;  but  her  silvery  light  was  soon  paled  by  the  conflagration  of  the  'Con- 
gress,' whose  lurid  glare  was  reflected  in  the  river.  The  burning  frigate 
four  miles  away  seemed  very  much  nearer.  As  the  flames  crept  up  the  rig- 
ging, every  mast,  spar,  and  rope  glittered  against  the  dark  sky  in  dazzling 
lines  of  fire.  The  hull,  aground  upon  the  shoal,  was  plainly  visible ;  and 
upon  its  black  surface  each  port-hole  seemed  the  mouth  of  a  fiery  furnace. 


138  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


For  hours  the  flames  raged,  with  hardly  a  perceptible  change  in  the  wondrous 
picture.  At  irregular  intervals,  loaded  guns  and  shells,  exploding  as  the 
flames  reached  them,  sent  forth  their  deep  reverberations,  re-echoed  over 
and  over  from  every  headland  of  the  bay.  The  masts  and  rigging  were  still 
standing,  apparently  intact,  when  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  mon- 
strous sheet  of  flame  rose  from  the  vessel  to  an  immense  height.  The  ship 
was  rent  in  twain  by  the  tremendous  flash.  Blazing  fragments  seemed  to 
fill  the  air;  and,  after  a  long  interval,  a  deep,  deafening  report  announced 
the  explosion  of  the  ship's  powder-magazine.  When  the  blinding  glare  had 
subsided,  I  supposed  that  every  vestige  of  the  vessel  would  have  disap- 
peared ;  but  apparently  all  the  force  of  the  explosion  had  been  upward.  The 
rigging  had  vanished  entirely,  but  the  hull  seemed  hardly  shattered  ;  the 
only  apparent  change  in  it  was  that  in  two  or  three  places,  two  or  three  of 
the  port-holes  had  been  blown  into  one  great  gap.  It  continued  to  burn 
until  the  brightness  of  its  blaze  was  effaced  by  the  morning  sun." 

In  the  great  drama  of  the  first  day's  fight  at  Hampton  Roads,  the  heroic 
part  was  played  by  the  frigate  "Cumberland."  On  the  morning  of  that 
fateful  8th  of  March,  she  was  swinging  idly  at  her  moorings,  her  boats  float- 
ing at  the  boom,  and  her  men  lounging  about  the  deck,  never  dreaming  of 
the  impending  disaster.  It  was  wash-day,  and  from  the  lower  rigging  of  the 
ship  hung  garments  drying  in  the  sun.  About  noon  the  lookout  saw  a 
cloud  of  smoke,  apparently  coming  down  the  river  from  Norfolk,  and  at  once 
notified  the  officer  of  the  deck.  It  was  surmised  that  it  might  be  the  new 
and  mysterious  iron-clad  "  Merrimac,"  about  which  many  rumors  were  cur- 
rent, but  few  facts  known.  Quickly  the  ship  was  set  in  trim  for  action,  and 
the  men  sent  to  quarters.  .  All  the  stern  preparations  for  battle  were  made 
—  the  guns  all  shotted,  the  men  in  position,  the  magazines  opened ;  shot, 
shell,  cartridges,  all  in  place ;  the  powder-boys  at  their  stations ;  swords,  pis- 
tols, boarding-pikes,  in  the  racks.  Down  in  the  cock-pit  the  surgeons  spread 
out  upon  their  tables  the  gleaming  instruments,  which  made  brave  men 
shudder  with  the  thought  of  what  a  few  minutes  would  bring. 

The  sailors  prepared  for  the  fight  gayly,  never  doubting  for  a  moment 
that  victory  would  be  on  their  side.  So  paltry  had  been  the  resistance 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  139 


that  the  Confederates  had  heretofore  been  able  to  "oppose  to  the  Northern 
arms,  by  sea,  that  the  blue-jackets  felt  that  they  had  only  to  open  a  fight 
in  order  to  win  it.  The  officers  were  more  serious.  Rumors  had  reached 
them  that  the  "  Merrimac  "  was  a  most  powerful  vessel,  destined  to  annihi- 
late the  navy  of  the  North ;  and  they  looked  on  this  first  battle  with  the 
monster  with  many  misgivings.  Their  fears  were  somewhat  lessened  by  an 
article  printed  in  the  Norfolk  papers,  a  few  days  previous,  denouncing  the 
"  Merrimac  "  as  a  bungling  bit  of  work,  absolutely  unseaworthy,  and  unable 
to  stand  against  the  powerful  vessels  of  the  North.  As  it  turned  out,  how- 
ever, this  article  was  published  as  a  ruse  to  deceive  the  Northern  authorities. 

The  iron  ship  came  steaming  sullenly  down  the  bay.  The  "  Congress  " 
was  the  first  ship  in  range,  and  a  puff  of  smoke  from  the  "  Merrimac's  " 
bow-gun  warned  the  crew  of  the  frigate  that  danger  was  coming.  All 
held  their  breath  an  instant,  until,  with  a  clatter  and  whiz,  a  storm  of 
grape-shot  rattled  against  her  sides,  and  whistled  through  the  rigging. 
Then  came  a  sigh  of  relief  that  it  was  no  worse.  When  the  enemy  was 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  the  "  Congress "  let  fly  her  whole  broadside, 
and  the  crew  crowded  the  ports  to  see  the  result.  The  great  iron  shot 
rattled  off  the  mailed  sides  of  the  monster,  like  hailstones  from  a  roof. 
Then  came  the  return  fire;  and  the  "Congress"  was  riddled  with  shells, 
and  her  decks  ran  with  blood.  The  "  Merrimac  "  passed  sullenly  on. 

Now  it  was  the  turn  of  the  "Cumberland."  Her  officers  and  crew 
had  seen  the  results  of  the  fire  of  the  "  Congress,"  and,  with  sinking  hearts, 
felt  how  hopeless  was  their  own  position.  There  was  no  chance  for  escape, 
for  no  wind  filled  the  sails  of  the  frigate.  She  lay  helpless,  awaiting  the 
attack  of  the  iron  battery  that  bore  down  upon  her,  without  firing  a  shot 
or  opening  a  port.  At  a  little  past  two  the  mailed  frigate  had.  approached 
the  "Cumberland"  within  grape-shot  distance.  Fire  was  opened  upon 
her  with  the  heaviest  guns ;  and  officers  and  men  watched  breathlessly 
the  course  of  their  shot,  and  cried  aloud  with  rage,  or  groaned  in  despair, 
as  they  saw  them  fall  harmlessly  from  the  iron  ship.  Still  they  had  no 
thought  of  surrender.  The  fire  of  the  "Cumberland"  was  received  silently 
by  the  "  Merrimac ; "  and  she  came  straight  on,  her  sharp  prow  cutting 


140  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


viciously  through  the  water,  and  pointed  straight  for  her  victim.  A 
second  broadside,  at  point-blank  range,  had  no  effect  on  her.  One  solid 
shot  was  seen  to  strike  her  armored  sides,  and,  glancing  upward,  fly  high 
into  the  air,  as  a  baseball  glances  from  the  bat  of  the  batsman ;  then, 
falling,  it  struck  the  roof  of  the  pilot-house,  and  fell  harmlessly  into  the  sea. 
In  another  instant  the  iron  ram  crashed  into  the  side  of  the  "Cumberland," 
cutting  through  oaken  timbers,  decks,  and  cabins.  At  the  same  time  all 
the  guns  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  Northern  frigate  were 
discharged ;  and  shells  crashed  through  her  timbers,  and  exploded  upon 
her  decks,  piling  splinters,  guns,  gun-carriages,  and  men  in  one  confused 
wreck.  Had  not  the  engines  of  the  ram  been  reversed  just  before  striking 
the  frigate,  her  headway  would  have  carried  her  clear  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  doomed  ship,  and  the  "  Cumberland,"  in  sinking,  would  have 
carried  her  destroyer  to  the  bottom  with  her.  As  it  was,  the  "Merrimac," 
with  a  powerful  wrench,  drew  out  of  the  wreck  she  had  made,  loosening 
her  iron  prow,  and  springing  a  serious  leak  in  the  operation.  She  drew 
off  a  short  distance,  paused  to  examine  the  work  she  had  done,  and  then, 
as  if  satisfied,  started  to  complete  the  destruction  of  the  "  Congress." 

And  well  might  the  men  of  the  "  Merrimac"  be  satisfied  with  their  hour's 
work.  The  "Cumberland"  was  a  hopeless  wreck,  rapidly  sinking.  Her 
decks  were  bloodstained,  and  covered  with  dead  men,  and  scattered  arms 
and  legs,  torn  off  by  the  exploding  shells.  And  yet  her  brave  crew  stuck  to 
their  guns,  and  fought  with  cool  valor,  and  without  a  vestige  of  confusion. 
They  had  had  but  a  few  moments  to  prepare  for  action  ;  and  the  long  rows 
of  Clothes,  drying  in  the  rigging,  told  how  peaceful  had  been  their  occupa- 
tion before  the  "  Merrimac  "  appeared  upon  the  scene.  Yet  now  that  the 
storm  of  battle  had  burst,  and  its  issue  was  clearly  against  them,  these  men 
stood  to  their  guns,  although  they  could  feel  the  deck  sinking  beneath  them. 
Every  man  was  at  his  post ;  and  even  when  the  waters  were  pouring  in  on 
the  gun-deck,  the  guns  were  loaded  and  fired.  Indeed,  the  last  shot  was 
fired  from  a  gun  half  buried  in  the  waves.  Then  the  grand  old  frigate  set- 
tled down  to  the  bottom,  carrying  half  her  crew  with  her,  but  keeping  the 
stars  and  stripes  still  floating  at  the  fore. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  143 

The  destruction  of  the  "Cumberland"  being  completed,  the  "Merrimac" 
steamed  over  to  the  "  Congress."  This  frigate  fought  well  and  valorously, 
but  was  soon  pounded  into  a  helpless  condition  by  the  shells  of  the  "  Merri- 
mac," as  shown  by  the  story  of  her  officer,  already  quoted.  When  a  white 
flag,  floating  at  her  peak,  told  of  surrender,  the  "  Merrimac  "  left  her  to  the 
attention  of  the  smaller  vessels  in  the  Confederate  flotilla,  and  set  out  to  find 
further  victims.  But  by  this  time  the  remainder  of  the  Federal  fleet  had 
taken  alarm,  and  fled  into  a  safe  position  under  the  shelter  of  the  Federal 
batteries  on  shore.  The  "Minnesota"  only  had  been  unfortunate  in  her 
attempted  flight,  and  was  aground  on  a  bar  near  the  scene  of  the  fight.  But 
now  only  two  hours  of  daylight  remained,  and  the  tide  was  low,  and  still  on 
the  ebb.  The  heavy  iron  frigate  could  not  get  within  effective  distance 
of  the  "  Minnesota,"  her  crew  were  weary  with  a  day's  fighting,  and  so  she 
turned  away  and  headed  up  the  river  for  Norfolk. 

In  taking  account  of  injuries  on  the  ram  that  night,  it  was  found  that  the 
injured  numbered  twenty-one ;  many  of  whom  had  been  shot  while  alongside 
the  surrendered  "Congress."  Not  an  atom  of  damage  was  done  to  the 
interior  of  the  vessel,  and  her  armor  showed  hardly  a  trace  of  the  terrible  test 
through  which  it  had  passed.  But  nothing  outside  had  escaped :  the  muz- 
zles of  two  guns  had  been  shot  off ;  the  ram  was  wrenched  away  in  with- 
drawing from  the  "Cumberland;"  one  anchor,  the  smoke-stack,  steam-pipe, 
railings,  flag-staff,  boat-davitts  —  all  were  swept  away  as  though  a  hugh  mow- 
ing-machine had  passed  over  the  deck.  But,  so  far  as  her  fighting  qualities 
were  concerned,  the  "  Merrimac  "  was  as  powerful  as  when  she  started  out 
from  Norfolk  on  that  bright  spring  morning. 

It  can  easily  be  understood  that  the  news  of  the  engagement  caused  the 
most  intense  excitement  throughout  this  country,  and  indeed  throughout  the 
whole  world.  In  the  South,  all  was  rejoicing  over  this  signal  success  of 
the  Confederate  ship.  Bells  were  rung,  and  jubilees  held,  in  all  the 
Southern  cities.  An  officer  of  the  "  Merrimac,"  who  was  despatched 
post-haste  to  Richmond  with  reports  of  the  engagement,  .  was  met  at 
every  station  by  excited  crowds,  who  demanded  that  he  tell  the  story 
of  the  fight  over  and  over  again.  At  last  the  starving  people  of  the  Con- 


144  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

federacy  saw  the  way  clear  for  the  sweeping  away  of  the  remorseless 
blockade. 

In  the  North,  the  excitement  was  that  of  fear.  The  people  of  seaboard 
cities  imagined  every  moment  the  irresistible  iron  ship  steaming  into  their 
harbors,  and  mowing  down  their  buildings  with  her  terrible  shells.  The 
Secretary  of  War  said,  at  a  hastily  called  cabinet  meeting  in  Washington  : 
"  The  '  Merrimac '  will  change  the  whole  character  of  the  war :  she  will 
destroy  every  naval  vessel ;  she  will  lay  all  the  seaboard  cities  under  con- 
tribution. Not  unlikely  we  may  have  a  shell  or  cannon-ball  from  one  of 
her  guns,  in  the  White  House,  before  we  leave  this  room." 

In  this  excited  state,  wild  with  joy,  or  harassed  with  fear,  the  whole 
country  went  to  sleep  that  March  night,  little  dreaming  that  the  morrow 
would  change  the  whole  face  of  the  naval  situation,  and  that  even  then  a 
little  untried  vessel  was  steaming,  unheralded,  toward  Hampton  Roads, 
there  to  meet  the  dreaded  "  Merrimac,"  and  save  the  remnants  of  the 
Federal  fleet.  Then  no  one  knew  of  the  "  Monitor  ;  "  but  twenty-four  hours 
later  her  name,  and  that  of  her  inventor  Ericsson,  were  household  words  in 
all  the  States  of  the  Union  and  the  Confederacy. 

Capt.  John  Ericsson  was  a  Swedish  engineer,  residing  in  this  country, 
who  had  won  a  name  for  himself  by  inventing  the  screw-propeller  as  a 
means  of  propulsion  for  steamships.  He  and  a  Connecticut  capitalist,  C.  S. 
Bushnell  by  name,  had  ever  since  the  opening  of  the  war  been  trying  to 
induce  the  Government  to  build  some  iron-clads  after  a  pattern  designed  by 
Ericsson,  and  which  afterwards  became  known  as  the  "monitor"  pattern. 
Their  labors  at  Washington  met  with  little  success.  After  a  long  explana- 
tion of  the  plan  before  the  wise  authorities  of  the  Naval  Board,  Capt. 
Ericsson  was  calmly  dismissed  with  the  remark,  "  It  resembles  nothing  in 
the  heavens  above,  or  the  earth  beneath,  or  the  waters  under  the  earth. 
You  can  take  it  home,  and  worship  it  without  violating  any  Commandment." 
Finally,  however,  leave  was  obtained  to  build  a  monitor  for  the  Govern- 
ment, provided  the  builders  would  take  all  financial  risks  in  case  it  proved 
a  failure.  So,  with  this  grudging  permission,  the  work  of  building  the  war- 
ship that  was  destined  to  save  the  Federal  navy  was  begun.  Work  was 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  145 


prosecuted  night  and  day,  and  in  one  hundred  days  the  vessel  was  ready 
for  launching.  Great  was  the  discussion  over  her.  Distinguished  engineers 
predicted  that  she  would  never  float ;  and  many  attended  the  launch  expect- 
ing to  see  the  vessel  plunge  from  the  ways  to  the  bottom  of  the  river, 
like  a  turtle  from  a  log.  So  general  was  this  opinion,  that  boats  were 
in  readiness  to  rescue  her  passengers  if  she  went  down.  But  Capt. 
Ericsson's  plans  were  well  laid.  The  great  vessel  glided  with  a  graceful 
dip  into  the  river,  and  floated  at  her  cables  buoyantly.  She  was  a  strange- 
looking  craft.  All  that  was  to  be  seen  of  her  above  water  was  a  low  deck 
about  a  foot  above  the  water,  bearing  in  the  centre  a  large  round  iron 
turret  pierced  with  two  great  port-holes.  Besides  the  turret,  the  smooth 
surface  of  the  deck  was  broken  by  two  other  elevations, — a  small  iron  pilot- 
house forward,  made  of  iron  plates  about  ten  inches  thick,  and  with  iron 
gratings  in  front ;  aft  of  the  turret  was  a  low  smoke-stack.  Beneath  the 
water-line  this  vessel  had  some  strange  features.  The  upper  part  of 
her  hull,  forming  the  deck,  projected  beyond  her  hull  proper  about  four 
feet  on  every  side.  This  projection  was  known  as  the  "  overhang,"  and 
was  designed  as  a  protection  against  rams.  It  was  made  of  white  oak  and 
iron,  and  was  impenetrable  by  any  cannon  of  that  day ;  although  now,  when 
steel  rifled  cannon  are  built  that  will  send  a  ball  through  twenty  inches  of 
wrought  iron,  the  original  "  Monitor  "  would  be  a  very  weak  vessel. 

The  turret  in  this  little  vessel,  which  held  the  two  guns  that  she 
mounted,  was  so  arranged  as  to  revolve  on  a  central  pivot,  thus  enabling  the 
gunners  to  keep  their  guns  continually  pointed  at  the  enemy,  whatever 
might  be  the  position  of  the  vessel.  When  the  time  for  the  first  battle 
actually  arrived,  it  was  found  that  the  turret  would  not  revolve  properly ; 
but  in  later  ships  of  the  same  class  this  trouble  was  avoided. 

It  was  at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  after  the  day  on  which  the 
"  Merrimac  "  had  wrought  such  havoc  among  the  ships  of  the  North,  that 
this  queer-looking  little  vessel  steamed  into  Hampton  Roads.  As  the 
gray  dawn  began  to  break,  she  passed  under  the  quarter  of  the  "Min- 
nesota," and  cast  anchor.  The  tars  on  the  great  frigate  looked  curiously  at 
the  strange  craft,  and  wondered  if  that  insignificant  "  cheese-box  on  a 


146  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

raft"  was  going  to  do  battle  with  the  dreaded  "  Merrimac."  Small  hopes 
had  they  that  their  noble  frigate  would  be  saved  by  any  such  pygmy 
war-ship. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  men  of  the  "  Merrimac "  up  at  Norfolk  were 
working  energetically  to  prepare  her  for  the  destruction  of  the  rest  of  the 
Union  ships.  Her  ram  was  tightened  in  its  place,  her  steering  apparatus 
overhauled,  and  some  changes  made,  and  her  rickety  engine  was  patched 
up.  At  daybreak  all  was  bustle  as  the  ram  prepared  to  move  down  on  the 
Union  fleet.  But  just  as  she  was  about  to  start,  her  officers  saw  the  queer 
craft  lying  by  the  "  Minnesota,"  which  they  at  once  knew  to  be  the 
Ericsson  "Monitor."  Her  appearance  was  not  very  terrible;  but,  neverthe- 
less, the  Confederates  felt  that  she  had  appeared  at  a  most  inopportune 
moment  for  them.  Still  they  raised  anchor,  and  started  down  the  bay  to 
meet  their  mysterious  enemy. 

It  was  Sunday  morning,  and  the  sun  rose  in  a  cloudless  blue  sky.  A 
light  breeze  stirred  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  played  lazily  with  the  long 
streaming  pennants  of  the  men-of-war.  The  batteries  on  both  sides  of  the 
bay  were  crowded  with  men  waiting  for  the  great  naval  battle  of  the  day. 
Up  at  Norfolk  a  gay  holiday  party  was  embarking  on  steam-tugs,  to  accom- 
pany the  Confederate  ship  and  witness  the  total  destruction  of  the  Union 
fleet.  No  thought  of  defeat  ever  entered  the  minds  of  the  proud  believers 
in  the  new  iron-clad  of  the  Confederacy. 

At  the  first  sign  of  life  on  board  the  "Merrimac,"  the  "Monitor"  began 
her  preparations  for  the  battle.  In  fifteen  minutes  she  was  in  battle  trim. 
The  iron  hatches  were  closed,  the  dead-light  covers  put  on,  and  obstructions 
removed  from  the  main  deck,  so  as  to  present  a  smooth  surface  only  twenty- 
four  inches, above  the  water,  unbroken,  save  by  the  turret  and  pilot-house. 
In  the  pilot-house  was  Lieut.  Worden,  who  was  to  command  the  "  Monitor  " 
in  this  her  first  battle. 

Leisurely  the  "  Merrimac  "  came  down  the  bay,  followed  by  her  attend- 
ant tugs  ;  and,  as  she  came  within  range,  she  opened  fire  on  the  "  Minnesota," 
which  was  still  aground.  The  frigate  responded  with  a  mighty  broadside, 
which,  however,  rattled  off  the  mailed  sides  of  the  ram  like  so  many  peas. 


148  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

Clearly,  every  thing  depended  upon  the  "  Monitor ; "  and  that  little  craft 
steamed  boldly  out  from  behind  the  "Minnesota,"  and  sent  two  huge  iron 
balls,  weighing  one  hundred  and  seventy  pounds  each,  against  the  side  of 
the  "  Merrimac."  The  shot  produced  no  effect  beyond  showing  the  men 
of  the  "  Merrimac  "  that  they  had  met  a  foeman  worthy  of  their  steel.  The 
"  Merrimac  "  slowed  up  her  engines,  as  though  to  survey  the  strange  antago- 
nist thus  braving  her  power.  The  "Monitor"  soon  came  up,  and  a  cautious 
fight  began  ;  each  vessel  sailing  round  the  other,  advancing,  backing,  making 
quick  dashes  here  and  there,  like  two  pugilists  sparring  for  an  opening.  The 
two  shots  of  the  "  Monitor  "  would  come  banging  one  after  the  other  against 
the  "Merrimac's"  armor,  like  the  *' one,  two"  of  a  skilled  boxer.  In  this 
dancing  battle  the  "Monitor "had  an  enormous  advantage,  on  account  of 
her  size,  greater  speed,  and  the  way  in  which  she  answered  her  helm.  The 
"Merrimac"  was  like  a  huge  hawk  being  chased  and  baited  by  a  little  spar- 
row. Her  heavy  broadsides  found  nothing  to  hit  in  the  almost  submerged 
hull  of  the  "  Monitor."  When  a  ball  struck  the  turret,  it  glanced  off,  unless 
striking  fair  in  the  centre,  when  it  fell  in  fragments,  doing  no  greater  dam- 
age than  to  dent  the  iron  plates,  and  sometimes  knocking  down  the  men  at 
the  guns  inside.  The  first  manoeuvre  tried  by  the  "  Merrimac  "  was  to  run 
down  her  little  antagonist ;  and  she  did  strike  her  with  a  force  that  dented 
the  iron  overhang  of  the  "  Monitor,"  and  dashed  the  men  in  the  "  Merrimac  " 
to  the  deck,  with  blood  streaming  from  their  nostrils.  For  a  moment  it 
seemed  as  though  the  "  Monitor  "  must  go  under ;  but  gradually  the  terrible 
ram  glanced  off,  and  the  little  vessel,  righting,  sent  again  her  terrible  two 
shots  at  her  enemy.  In  the  action  of  the  day  before,  shot  and  shell  had 
beaten  against  the  sides  of  the  ram  so  rapidly  that  one  could  not  count  the 
concussions.  Now  it  was  a  series  of  tremendous  blows  about  a  minute  apart ; 
and,  if  the  men  had  not  been  working  away  at  their  guns,  they  could  have 
heard  the  oak  timbers  splintering  behind  the  iron  plating.  At  a  critical 
moment  in  the  fight  the  "Merrimac"  ran  aground;  and  the  "Monitor" 
steamed  around  her  several  times,  seeking  for  weak  places  in  which  to  -plant 
a  shot.  Once  Worden  dashed  at  his  adversary's  screw,  hoping  to  disable  it, 
but  missed  by  perhaps  two  feet.  Two  shots  from  the  "  Monitor  "  struck  the 


HANDLING  A  GUN. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  151 

muzzles  of  two  cannon  protruding  from  the  port-holes  of  the  "Merrimac," 
and  broke  them  off,  throwing  huge  splinters  of  iron  among  the  gunners 
inside.  And  so  the  battle  continued  until  about  noon  :  gun  answered  gun 
with  thunderous  reports,  that  echoed  back  from  the  batteries  on  shore  in 
rolling  reverberations.  The  pleasure-seeking  tugs  from  Norfolk  had  scut- 
tled back  again  out  of  the  way  of  the  great  cannon-balls  that  were  skipping 
along  the  water  in  every  direction.  Neither  of  the  combatants  had  received 
any  serious  injury.  On  board  the  "Monitor"  the  only  hurt  was  received  by 
a  gunner,  who  was  leaning  against  the  iron  wall  of  the  turret  just  as  a  shot 
struck  outside ;  he  was  carried  below,  disabled.  But  at  last  one  lucky  shot 
fired  from  one  of  the  disabled  guns  of  the  "  Merrimac  "  ended  this  gigantic 
contest ;  sending  each  contestant  to  her  moorings,  without  an  actual  victory 
for  either  side.  This  shot  struck  full  and  fair  against  the  gratings  of  the 
pilot-house,  through  which  Lieut.  Worden  was  looking  as  he  directed  the 
course  of  his  ship.  The  concussion  knocked  him  senseless.  Flakes  of  iron 
and  powder  were  driven  into  his  eyes  and  face,  blinding  him  completely  for 
the  time.  He  fell  back  from  the  wheel,  and  the  "  Monitor  "  was  left  for  a 
moment  without  her  guiding  spirit.  All  was  confusion  ;  but  in  a  few  mo- 
ments Worden  recovered,  and  gave  the  order  to  sheer  off.  The  "  Monitor" 
then  drew  away,  while  Worden  was  moved  to  the  cabin,  and  the  second  offi- 
cer sent  to  his  station  in  the  turret.  Lying  on  a  sofa  in  the  cabin,  his  eyes 
bandaged,  and  the  horror  of  life-long  blindness  upon  him,  Worden  asked 
faintly,  "  Have  I  saved  the  'Minnesota'  ?"  —  "Yes,"  answered  the  surgeon. 
"Then,"  said  he,  "I  die  happy." 

While  these  scenes  were  transpiring  on  the  "  Monitor,"  the  "  Merrimac  " 
lay  quietly  awaiting  her  return.  The  Confederate  officers  say  that  she 
waited  an  hour,  and  then,  concluding  that  the  "Monitor"  had  abandoned 
the  fight,  withdrew  to  Norfolk.  The  Northern  officers  and  historians  say 
that  the  "  Merrimac  "  was  in  full  retreat  when  the  decisive  shot  was  fired. 
It  is  hard  to  decide,  from  such  conflicting  statements,  to  which  side  the 
victory  belonged.  Certain  it  is,  that  not  a  man  on  the  "  Merrimac "  was 
injured,  and  that  all  damages  she  sustained  in  the  fight  were  remedied 
before  sunrise  the  next  day.  Later,  as  we  shall  see,  she  challenged  the 


152  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 

Union  fleet  to  a  new  battle,  without  response.  But  with  all  these  facts 
in  view,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  purpose  of  the  "  Merrimac,"  that 
bright  March  Sunday,  was  to  destroy  the  frigate  "  Minnesota : "  in  that 
purpose  she  was  foiled  by  the  "  Monitor,"  and  to  that  extent  at  least 
the  "Monitor"  was  the  victor. 

Lieut.  Worden,  after  the  fight,  went  directly  to  Washington.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  was  at  a  cabinet  meeting  when  he  heard  of  Worden's  arrival 
in  the  city,  and  hastily  rising  said,  "  Gentlemen,  I  must  go  to  that  fellow" 
Worden  was  lying  on  a  sofa,  his  head  swathed  in  bandages,  when  the 
President  entered.  "Mr.  President,"  said  he,  "you  do  me  great  honor 
by  this  visit."  —  "Sir,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  while  the  tears  ran  down  his 
cheeks,  "  I  am  the  one  who  is  honored  in  this  interview." 

Among  his  crew  Worden  was  very  much  beloved.  The  following 
letter,  sent  him  while  on  a  bed  of  pain,  is  all  the  more  touching  for  the 
rude  form  in  which  their  affection  for  their  commander  is  expressed  :  — 

TO   CAPTAIN   WORDEN. 

HAMPTON  ROADS,  April  24,  1862. 

UNITED  STATES  MONITOR. 

To  OUR  DEAR  AND  HONORED  CAPTAIN. 

Dear  Sir,  —  These  few  lines  is  from  your  own  crew  of  the  Monitor,  with  their 
kindest  Love  to  you  their  Honored  Captain,  hoping  to  God  that  they  will  have  the 
pleasure  of  welcoming  you  back  to  us  again  soon,  for  we  are  all  ready  able  and 
willing  to  meet  Death  or  any  thing  else,  only  give  us  back  our  Captain  again.  Dear 
Captain,  we  have  got  your  Pilot-house  fixed  and  all  ready  for  you  when  you  get  well 
again ;  and  we  all  sincerely  hope  that  soon  we  will  have  the  pleasure  of  welcoming 
you  back  to  it.  ...  We  are  waiting  very  patiently  to  engage  our  Antagonist  if  we 
could  only  get  a  chance  to  do  so.  The  last  time  she  came  out  we  all  thought  we 
would  have  the  Pleasure  of  sinking  her.  But  we  all  got  disappointed,  for  we  did  not 
fire  one  shot,  and  the  Norfolk  papers  says  we  are  cowards  in  the  Monitor  — and  all 
we  want  is  a  chance  to  show  them  where  it  lies  with  you  for  our  Captain  We  can  teach 
them  who  is  cowards.  But  there  is  a  great  deal  that  we  would  like  to  write  to  you  but 
we  think  you  will  soon  be  with  us  again  yourself.  But  we  all  join  in  with  our  kindest 
love  to  you,  hoping  that  God  will  restore  you  to  us  again  and  hoping  that  your  suffer- 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  153 


ings  is  at  an  end  now,  and  we  are  all  so  glad  to  hear  that  your  eyesight  will  be  spaired 
to  you  again.  We  would  wish  to  write  more  to  you  if  we  have  your  kind  Permission 
to  do  so  but  at  present  we  all  conclude  by  tendering  to  you  our  kindest  Love  and 
affection,  to  our  Dear  and  Honored  Captain. 

We  remain  untill  Death  your  Affectionate  Crew 

THE    MONITOR   BOYS. 

The  "Merrimac,"  after  being  repaired  and  altered  to  some  extent, 
sailed  down  the  bay  on  the  iith  of  April,  for  the  purpose,  as  her  officers 
said,  of  meeting  the  "  Monitor  "  again.  She  steamed  into  the  Roads,  and 
exchanged  a  few  shots  with  the  Union  batteries  at  the  rip-raps ;  but  the 
"  Monitor,"  and  other  Union  vessels,  remained  below  Fortress  Monroe, 
in  Chesapeake  Bay,  out  of  the  reach  of  the  Confederate  vessel.  Again, 
a  few  days  later,  the  "  Merrimac "  went  to  Hampton  Roads,  and  tried  ta 
lure  the  "Monitor"  to  battle;  but  again  the  challenge  passed  unanswered. 
It  is  probable  that  the  Federal  naval  authorities  did  not  care  to  imperil 
the  only  vessel  that  stood  between  them  and  destruction,  out  of  mere 
bravado.  Had  the  "  Monitor "  come  out,  an  attempt  would  have  been 
made  to  carry  her  by  boarding.  The  crew  of  the  "Merrimac"  were 
prepared  for  the  attack ;  and  four  gunboats  accompanying  her  were  crowded 
with  men,  divided  into  squads,  each  with  its  specified  duty.  Some  were 
to  try  and  wedge  the  turret,  some  were  to  cover  the  pilot-house  and  all 
the  openings  with  tarpaulin,  others  were  to  try  to  throw  shells  and  gun- 
powder down  the  smoke-stack.  But  all  these  preparations  proved  useless, 
as  the  "Monitor"  still  remained  quietly  at  her  anchorage.  On  May  8  a 
third  trip  was  made  by  the  "Merrimac."  When  she  came  down  the  bay, 
she  found  the  Union  fleet,  including  the  "Monitor,"  hard  at  work  shelling 
the  Confederate  batteries  at  Sewall's  Point.  As  she  came  towards  them, 
they  ceased  their  cannonade,  and  retired  again  to  the  shelter  of  Fortress 
Monroe.  The  "  Merrimac "  steamed  up  and  down  the  Roads  for  some 
hours ;  and  finally  Commodore  Tatnall,  in  deep  disgust,  gave  the  order, 
"  Mr.  Jones,  fire  a  gun  to  windward,  and  take  the  ship  back  to  her  buoy." 


154  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

Back  to  Norfolk  she  went,  never  again  to  leave  that  harbor.  On  the 
9th  of  May  the  officers  of  the  "  Merrimac  "  noticed  that  the  Confederate 
flag  was  no  longer  floating  over  the  shore-batteries.  A  reconnoissance 
proved  that  the  land  forces  had  abandoned  Norfolk,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  get  the  ship  away  before  the  Union  troops  arrived  and  hemmed  her  in. 
Her  pilots  declared  that  if  the  ship  was  lightened  they  could  take  her  up 
the  James  River;  and  accordingly  all  hands  threw  overboard  ballast  and 
trappings,  until  she  was  lightened  three  feet.  Then  the  pilots  claimed  that 
with  the  prevalent  wind  they  could  not  handle  her.  It  was  now  useless  to 
try  to  run  her  through  the  Union  fleet,  for  the  lightening  process  had 
exposed  three  feet  of  her  unarmed  hull  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  It  was 
accordingly  determined  that  she  should  be  destroyed.  She  was  run  ashore 
on  Craney  Island,  and  trains  of  powder  laid  all  over  her,  and  fired.  Every 
gun  was  loaded,  and  the  doors  of  the  magazine  were  left  open.  Her  crew 
then  started  on  the  march  for  the  interior.  It  was  just  in  the  gray  of  the 
morning  that  a  rumbling  of  the  earth  was  felt,  followed  by  a  shock  that 
made  all  stagger.  A  column  of  smoke  and  flame  shot  into  the  air ;  huge 
cannon  were  hurled  high  above  the  tree-tops,  discharging  in  mid-air.  One 
shot  fell  in  the  woods  some  distance  ahead  of  the  marching  crew,  and  all 
knew  that  it  marked  the  end  of  the  mighty  "  Merrimac." 


THE 


CHAPTER   X. 


IN   THE   INLAND   WATERS.—  THE    MISSISSIPPI    SQUADRON.  —  SWEEPING   THE 
TENNESSEE  RIVER. 


E  will  now  leave  for  a  time  the  blue-water  sailors,  whose  battles, 
triumphs,  and  defeats  we  have  been  considering,  and  look  at  the 
work  done  by  the  tars  of  both  North  and  South  on  the  great 
waterways  which  cut  up  the  central  portion  of  the  United  States, 
known  as  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  It  was  in  this  section  that  the 
navy  of  the  North  did  some  of  its  most  effective  work  against  the  Con- 
federacy, and  it  was  there  that  the  sailor  boys  of  the  South  did  many  deeds 
of  the  most  desperate  valor.  There  is  much  of  romance  about  service  on 
the  blue  ocean  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  routine  duty  along  the  yellow 
muddy  streams  that  flowed  through  the  territory  claimed  by  King  Cotton. 
The  high,  tapering  masts,  the  yards  squared  and  gracefully  proportioned, 
the  rigging  taut,  and  with  each  rope  in  its  place,  of  an  ocean-frigate,  are  not 
seen  in  the  squat,  box-like  gunboats  that  dashed  by  the  batteries  at  Vicks- 
burg,  or  hurled  shot  and  shell  at  each  other  in  the  affair  at  Memphis.  But 
Farragut,  stanch  old  sea-dog  as  he  was,  did  much  of  his  grandest  fighting 
on  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Mississippi;  and  the  work  of  the  great  fleet 
at  Port  Royal  was  fully  equalled  by  Porter's  mortar-boats  below  New 
Orleans. 

'55 


156  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

Let  us  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  Union  fleet  on  their  cruises  about  the 
great  rivers  of  the  interior,  and  first  discover  what  the  work  was  that  they 
set  out  to  perform. 

The  rivers  making  up  the  Mississippi  system  flow  for  the  greater  part 
of  their  length  through  the  States  that  had  joined  the  new  Confederacy. 
The  northern  Confederate  battle-line  was  along  the  south  bank  of  the 
Ohio  River,  and  there  they  had  erected  batteries  that  controlled  the 
passage  of  that  river.  South  of  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  every  river  was 
lined  with  Confederate  batteries,  and  bore  on  its  placid  bosom  fleets  of 
Confederate  gunboats.  At  Columbus  on  the  Mississippi,  not  far  south 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  were  strong  batteries  over  which  floated  the  stars 
and  bars  of  the  Confederacy.  Farther  down  was  Island  Number  10,  bear- 
ing one  of  the  most  powerful  fortifications  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Then 
came  Fort  Pillow,  guarding  the  city  of  Memphis ;  then  at  Vicksburg 
frowned  earthworks,  bastions,  and  escarpments  that  rivalled  Gibraltar  for 
impregnability.  Lower  down  were  fortifications  at  Grand  Gulf,  Port 
Hudson,  and  Baton  Rouge.  Fort  Henry  guarded  the  Tennessee  River, 
and  Fort  Donelson  the  Cumberland,  and  both  of  these  rivers  were  very 
important  as  waterways  for  the  transportation  of  supplies  to  the  Union 
armies  marching  into  Tennessee.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  all 
these  fortifications  should  be  swept  away,  and  the  rivers  opened  for  naviga- 
tion down  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  was  necessary  that  the  work  should 
be  done  from  above ;  for  the  forts  below  New  Orleans  were  thought  to  be 
impassible,  and  Farragut's  passage  of  them  late  in  the  war  made  all  the 
world  ring  with  his  name. 

It  became  evident,  very  early  in  the  war,  that  no  great  progress  could 
be  made  in  the  task  of  crushing  the  powerful  insurrection  until  telling 
blows  had  been  struck  at  the  Confederate  control  of  the  inland  waterways. 
When  the  attention  of  the  war  department  was  turned  in  that  direction, 
they  found  but  little  to  encourage  them  in  the  prospect.  Along  the 
thousands  of  miles  of  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries, 
there  was  not  one  gun  mounted  belonging  to  the  United  States,  not 
one  earthwork  over  which  floated  the  starry  flag  of  the  Union.  The 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  157 


Confederate  positions  on  this  great  chain  of  waterways  were,  as  we  have 
seen,  of  great  strength.  To  attack  them,  the  armies  of  the  North  must  first 
fight  their  way  through  whole  States  populated  by  enemies.  Obviously, 
the  war  department  alone  could  not  complete  so  gigantic  a  task,  and 
the  services  of  the  navy  were  called  into  requisition.  So  energetically 
did  the  navy  department  prosecute  its  task,  that,  by  the  end  of  the  war, 
over  one  hundred  Federal  war-vessels  floated  on  those  streams,  on  which, 
three  years  before,  no  craft  dared  sail  under  the  American  flag.  It  was 
.a  strange  navy  in  looks,  but  in  actions  it  showed  itself  worthy  of  the 
service  in  which  it  was  enlisted. 

Many  of  the  steamers  built  for  the  river  marine  were  wooden  gunboats, 
hastily  remodelled  from  the  hulks  of  old  craft.  They  were  seldom  plated 
with  iron,  and  their  machinery  was  feebly  protected  by  coal  bunkers, 
while  their  oaken  sides  were  barely  thick  enough  to  stop  a  musket-ball. 
But  the  true  iron-clad  war-vessel  made  its  appearance  on  the  rivers  even 
before  it  was  to  be  seen  in  the  ocean  squadrons. 

It  was  as  early  in  the  war  as  July,  1861,  that  the  quartermaster-general 
advertised  for  bids  for  the  construction  of  iron-clad  gunboats  for  service 
on  the  Mississippi  and  tributary  rivers.  The  contract  was  given  to  James 
B.  Eads,  an  engineer,  who  during  the  war  performed  much  valuable  service 
for  the  United  States  Government,  and  who  in  later  years  has  made 
himself  a  world-wide  fame  by  the  construction  of  the  jetties  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  River,  by  which  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  great  stream 
is  swept  away  by  the  mighty  rush  of  the  pent-up  waters.  Mr.  Eads  was 
instructed  to  build  seven  iron-clad  gunboats  with  all  possible  expedition. 
They  were  to  be  plated  two  and  a  half  inches  thick,  and,  though  of  six 
hundred  tons  burden,  were  not  to  draw  more  than  six  feet  of  water.  They 
were  to  carry  thirteen  heavy  guns  each. 

These  river-gunboats,  like  the  little  "  Monitor,"  had  none  of  the  grace 
and  grandeur  of  the  old  style  of  sailing-frigate,  in  which  Paul  Jones  fought 
so  well  for  his  country.  The  tapering  masts  of  the  mighty  frigate,  the 
spidery  cordage  by  which  the  blue-jackets  climbed  to  loosen  the  snowy 
sheets  of  canvas  —  these  gave  way  in  the  gunboat  to  a  single  slender 


158 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '6r. 


flagstaff  for  signalling,  and  two   towering   smoke-stacks  anchored   to   the 


deck  by  heavy  iron  cables,  and  belching  forth  the  black  smoke  from  roaring 
fires  of   pitch-pine  or  soft  coal.     Instead    of   the    gracefully  curved   black 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  159 


sides,  with  two  rows  of  ports,  from  which  peeped  the  muzzles  of  great 
cannon,  the  gunboat's  sides  above  water  sloped  like  the  roof  of  a  house, 
and  huge  iron  shutters  hid  the  cannon  from  view.  Inside,  all  was  dark 
and  stuffy,  making  battle-lanterns  necessary  even  in  daylight  fights.  The 
broad  white  gundeck,  scrubbed  to  a  gleaming  white  by  hollystone  and 
limejuice,  on  which  the  salt-water  sailors  gathered  for  their  mess  or  drill, 
was  replaced  by  a  cramped  room,  with  the  roof  hardly  high  enough  to 
let  the  jolly  tars  skylark  beneath  without  banging  their  skulls  against 
some  projecting  beam.  Truly  it  may  be  said,  that,  if  the  great  civil  war 
made  naval  architecture  more  powerful,  it  also  robbed  the  war-vessels 
of  all  their  beauty. 

It  is  hard  to  appreciate  now  the  immense  difficulty  experienced  in 
getting  those  first  seven  river-gunboats  built  by  the  appointed  time.  The 
war  had  just  begun,  and  a  people  accustomed  to  peace  had  not  yet  found 
out  that  those  not  actually  at  the  seat  of  war  could  continue  their  usual 
course  of  life  unmolested.  Rolling-mills,  machine-shops,  founderies,  saw- 
mills, and  shipyards  were  all  idle.  Working-men  were  enlisting,  or  going 
to  the  Far  West,  away  from  the  storm  of  war  that  was  expected  to  sweep  up 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  timber  for  the  ships  was  still  standing  in  the 
forests.  The  engines  that  were  to  drive  the  vessels  against  the  enemy 
were  yet  to  be  built.  Capt.  Eads's  contract  called  for  the  completion  of  the 
seven  vessels  in  sixty-five  days,  and  he  went  at  his  work  with  a  will.  His 
success  showed  that  not  all  the  great  services  done  for  a  nation  in  time  of 
war  come  from  the  army  or  navy.  Within  two  weeks  four  thousand  men 
were  at  work  getting  the  gunboats  ready.  Some  were  in  Michigan  felling 
timber,  some  in  the  founderies  and  machine-shops  of  Pittsburg,  and  others 
in  the  shipyards  at  St.  Louis,  where  the  hulls  of  the  vessels  were  on  the 
stocks.  Day  and  night,  week-days  and  Sundays,  the  work  went  on  ;  and  in 
forty-five  days  the  first  vessel  was  completed,  and  christened  the  "  St. 
Louis."  The  others  followed  within  the  appointed  time.  Before  the 
autumn  of  1861,  the  river  navy  of  the  United  States  numbered  nearly  a 
score  of  vessels,  while  nearly  forty  mortar-boats  were  in  process  of  con- 
struction. Of  this  flotilla,  Capt.  A.  H.  Foote,  an  able  naval  officer,  was 


160  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

put  in  command,  and  directed  to  co-operate  with  the  land  forces  in  all 
movements. 

The  first  service  to  which  the  gunboats  were  assigned  was  mainly 
reconnoitring  expeditions  before  the  front  of  the  advancing  Union  armies. 
They  were  stationed  at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers ; 
and  the  country  about  Cairo  was  occupied  by  a  large  body  of  Union 
troops  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Grant,  then  a  young  officer  little  known. 
The  opening  fight  of  the  river  campaign  was  little  more  than  a  skirmish  ; 
but  it  proved  the  superiority  of  the  gunboats  over  a  land-force  for  the 
purpose  of  opening  the  river.  One  bright  day  in  September,  the  "  Lexing- 
ton "  and  "  Conestoga "  were  ordered  to  proceed  down  the  river  eight  or 
ten  miles,  and  dislodge  a  Confederate  battery  that  had  taken  a  position  on 
Lucas  Point.  The  two  vessels  steamed  cautiously  down  the  stream,  without 
encountering  any  resistance  until  within  easy  range  of  the  battery,  when 
the  Confederates  opened  with  sixteen  cannon.  The  shot  and  shells  fell  all 
about  the  vessels ;  but  neither  was  hit,  showing  that  the  Confederate 
gunners  were  not  yet  used  to  firing  at  a  moving  mark.  But  the  fire  of  the 
gunboats  was  admirably  directed  ;  the  shells  falling  among  the  Confederates, 
dismounting  the  guns,  and  driving  the  gunners  from  their  pieces.  It  was 
too  hot  a  spot  for  any  man  to  hold ;  and  a  cavalry  corps  quickly  attached 
their  horses  to  the  guns,  and  drew  them  down  the  river  to  the  shelter  of 
the  Confederate  works  at  Columbus.  Then  the  defeated  party  sent  up  the 
gunboat  "Yankee"  to  attack  the  two  victors,  but  this  vessel  was  quickly 
disposed  of.  She  opened  fire  at  long  range,  but  without  success.  The  first 
shot  from  the  "Conestoga"  struck  the  water  a  few  feet  from  the  "Yankee," 
and,  ricochetting,  plunged  into  her  hull.  The  discomfited  vessel  imme- 
diately put  about,  and  started  down  stream,  followed  by  a  heavy  fire  from 
the  two  Northern  ships.  Just  as  she  was  passing  out  of  range,  an  eight- 
inch  shell  from  the  "  Lexington "  struck  her  starboard  wheel-house,  and 
shattered  the  paddle-wheel,  totally  disabling  the  vessel,  so  that  she  drifted 
sidelong  to  her  anchorage  like  a  wounded  duck. 

On  the  return  of  the  Northern  vessels  up  the  river,  they  first  encoun- 
tered the  form  of  warfare  that  proved  the  most  perilous  for  the  sailors  of 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  161 

the  river  navy.  Confederate  sharp-shooters  lined  the  banks,  perched  in 
the  trees,  or  hidden  in  the  long,  marshy  grass ;  and  any  unwary  tar  who 
showed  his  head  above  the  bulwarks  was  made  a  target  for  several  long 
rifles  in  the  hands  of  practised  shots. 

The  next  active  service  performed  by  the  gunboats  was  at  the  battle  of 
Belmont,  directly  opposite  the  Confederate  batteries  at  Columbus.  The 
Union  troops,  landing  in  force,  had  driven  the  Confederates  from  their 
•camp,  and  were  engaged  in  securing  the  spoils,  when  the  gunners  at 
Columbus,  seeing  that  the  camp  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  turned 
their  heavy  guns  on  it,  and  soon  drove  out  the  Yankees.  The  Confederates 
had  rallied  in  the  woods,  and  now  came  pouring  out,  in  the  hope  of  cutting 
off  the  Union  retreat  to  the  boats.  On  all  sides  the  dark  gray  columns 
could  be  seen  marching  out  of  the  woods,  and  pouring  down  upon  the 
retreating  army  of  the  North.  Batteries  were  wheeling  into  position,  and 
:staff-officers  in  travelling  carriages  were  dashing  to  and  fro  carrying  orders. 
It  seemed  a  black  day  for  the  three  or  four  thousand  Unionists  who  were 
making  for  their  transports  with  all  possible  speed.  But  now  was  the  time 
for  the  gunboats  to  take  a  hand  in  the  fight.  Three  of  them  dropped  into 
position,  and  began  a  deadly  fire  upon  the  Confederate  line.  The  huge 
shells  ploughed  their  way  through  whole  platoons  of  men.  Bursting,  they 
•would  mow  down  soldiers  like  saplings  before  a  cyclone.  One  shell 
exploded  directly  beneath  an  officers'  carriage,  and  threw  horses,  carriage, 
and  men  high  in  the  air.  The  Confederates  hastened  to  get  their  field- 
batteries  into  position,  and  replied  to  the  deadly  fire  from  the  ships,  but  to 
no  avail.  Their  light  artillery  was  of  no  effect  upon  the  plated  sides  of  the 
gunboats,  and  they  saw  their  cannon  dismounted  or  shattered  by  the  solid 
shot  from  the  big  guns  of  the  iron-clads.  They  fought  bravely,  but  the 
conflict  was  unequal.  It  was  sheer  madness  for  any  body  of  men,  with 
muskets  and  light  artillery,  to  stand  against  the  fire  of  the  gunboats.  The 
gunboats  saved  the  day.  The  retreat  of  the  Union  army  was  unchecked ; 
and,  covered  by  the  war-vessels,  the  transports  returned  safely  to  Cairo. 

On  the  Tennessee  River,  near  the  northern  boundary  of  Tennessee, 
the  Confederates  had  thrown  up  certain  earthworks  to  which  they  gave  the 


1 62  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

name  of  Fort  Henry.  This,  with  Fort  Donelson,  situated  near  by,  formed 
the  principal  Confederate  strongholds  in  Tennessee.  Gen.  Grant  deter- 
mined to  strike  a  heavy  blow  by  capturing  these  two  forts ;  and  Commodore 
Foote,  with  his  seven  gunboats,  was  ordered  to  co-operate  with  the  land- 
forces  in  the  expedition.  They  started  from  Cairo  on  Feb.  2,  1862. 
When  a  few  miles  below  the  fort,  the  troops  were  landed  and  ordered 
to  proceed  up  the  back  country,  and  attack  the  fort  in  the  rear,  while 
Foote  should  engage  it  from  the  river  with  his  gunboats.  While  the 
troops  were  being  landed,  Gen.  Grant  boarded  the  "  Essex,"  and  went 
up*  the  river  to  get  a  view  of  the  fort  they  were  about  to  attack.  Had 
it  been  completed  in  accordance  with  the  plans  of  the  engineers,  it  would 
have  been  most  formidable.  Time,  however,  had  been  short,  and  the 
earthworks  were  far  from  being  completed.  There  were  many  points 
on  the  river  or  on  the  opposite  bank,  from  which  a  well-directed  artillery 
fire  would  make  them  untenable.  The  Confederate  commander,  Gen.  Tilgh- 
man,  fully  appreciated  this  fact,  and,  at  the  approach  of  the  gunboats, 
had  sent  four-fifths  of  his  garrison  across  the  country  to  Fort  Donelson, 
being  determined  to  sacrifice  as  few  men  as  possible  in  the  defence  of 
so  untenable  a  position.  While  Grant  and  Foote  were  examining  the  works 
through  their  field-glasses,  the  sullen  boom  of  a- great  gun  came  over  the 
waters,  and  a  heavy  rifled  shot  crashed  through  the  stateroom  of  Capt. 
Porter  on  the  "Essex."  The  two  commanders  concluded  that  the  Confed- 
erate gunners,  though  new  to  war,  understood  something  of  artillery  practice ; 
and  the  "  Essex  "  was  accordingly  taken  down  the  river,  out  of  range. 

The  following  night  was  chill  and  rainy  ;  and  the  Union  forces, 
bivouacking  on  shore,  grumbled  loudly  over  their  discomforts.  The 
morning  dawned  dark ;  but  soon  the  sun  came  out,  and  the  preparations 
for  battle  were  begun.  The  troops  were  first  despatched  on  their  cross- 
country march ;  and,  as  they  departed,  Commodore  Foote  remarked  coolly, 
that  his  gunboats  would  have  reduced  the  fort  before  the  land  forces  came 
within  five  miles  of  it.  This  proved  to  be  the  fact. 

The  gunboats  formed  in  line  of  battle,  and  advanced  up  the  river. 
The  four  iron-clads  led,  steaming  abreast.  About  a  mile  in  the  rear, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  163 


came  the  three  wooden  vessels.  The  fort  was  soon  in  range ;  but  both 
parties  seemed  anxious  for  a  determined  conflict,  and  no  shot  was  fired 
on  either  side  as  the  gunboats  came  sullenly  on.  How  different  must 
have  been  the  feelings  of  the  two  combatants  !  Tilghman,  with  his  handful 
of  men,  hardly  able  to  work  eight  of  the  eleven  guns  mounted  in  his  fort, 
and  knowing  that  his  defeat  was  a  mere  question  of  time ;  Foote,  with 
his  iron-clads  and  supporting  gunboats,  his  seventy-two  guns,  and  his 
knowledge  that  six  thousand  men  were  marching  upon  the  rear  of  the 
Confederate  works.  On  the  one  side,  all  was  absolute  certainty  of  defeat ; 
on  the  other,  calm  confidence  of  victory. 

When  the  flotilla  was  within  a  third  of  a  mile  of  the  fort,  the  fire 
began.  The  gunners  on  the  ships  could  see  the  muzzles  of  the  Confederate 
guns,  the  piles  of  shells  and  cannon-balls,  and  the  men  at  their  work.  The 
firing  on  both  sides  was  deliberate  and  deadly.  The  Confederates  were 
new  to  the  work,  but  they  proved  themselves  good  marksmen.  The  first 
shot  was  fired  from  the  shore,  and,  missing  the  "  Essex "  by  but  a  few 
feet,  plumped  into  the  water,  so  near  the  next  ship  in  line  as  to  throw 
water  over  her  decks.  Within  five  minutes,  the  "  Essex  "  and  the  "  Cincin- 
nati "  were  both  hit.  The  armor  of  the  gunboats  proved  no  match  for 
the  shots  of  the  Confederates,  and  in  many  cases  it  was  penetrated.  In 
some  instances,  shells,  entering  through  the  port-holes,  did  deadly  damage. 

On  the  shore,  the  shells  from  the  gunboats  were  doing  terrible  work. 
Banks  of  solid  earth,  eight  feet  thick,  were  blown  away  by  the  terrible 
explosions.  One,  bursting  in  front  of  a  ten-inch  columbiad,  filled  that 
powerful  gun  with  mud  almost  to  the  muzzle,  disabling  it  for  the  remainder 
of  the  fight.  A  shot  from  the  "  Essex  "  struck  the  muzzle  of  a  great  gun, 
ripped  off  a  splinter  of  iron  three  feet  long,  and  crushed  a  gunner  to  pulp. 
The  gun  was  just  about  to  be  fired,  and  burst,  killing  or  wounding  every 
man  of  the  crew.  At  the  same  moment  a  shell  crashed  through  the  side 
of  the  "  Essex,"  killing  men  right  and  left :  took  off  the  head  of  a  sailor 
standing  by  Capt.  Porter,  wounded  the  captain,  and  plunged  into  the 
boiler.  In  an  instant  the  ship  was  filled  with  scalding  steam.  The  men 
in  the  pilot-house  were  suffocated.  Twenty  men  and  officers  were  killed 


1 64  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

or  scalded.  The  ship  was  disabled,  and  drifted  out  of  the  fight.  While 
withdrawing,  she  received  two  more  shots,  making  twenty  in  all  that  had 
fallen  to  her  share  in  this  hot  engagement.  But  by  this  time, the  fort  was 
very  thoroughly  knocked  to  pieces.  The  big  twenty-four  pounder  was 
dismounted,  and  five  of  its  crew  killed.  Gun  after  gun  was  keeled  over, 
and  man  after  man  carried  bleeding  to  the  bomb-proofs,  until  Gen.  Tilgh- 
man  himself  dropped  coat  and  sword,  and  pulled  away  at  a  gun  by  the 
side  of  his  soldiers.  Receiving  ten  shots  while  they  could  only  fire  one, 
this  little  band  held  out  for  two  long  hours ;  and  only  when  the  crew 
of  the  last  remaining  piece  threw  themselves  exhausted  on  the  ground,  did 
the  flag  come  fluttering  down.  Gen.  Tilghman  went  to  the  fleet  and 
surrendered  the  fort  to  Commodore  Foote,  and  Grant's  army  came  up  more 
than  an  hour  after  the  battle  was  over.  To  the  navy  belongs  the  honor 
of  taking  Fort  Henry,  while  to  Gen.  Tilghman  and  his  plucky  soldiers 
belongs  the  honor  of  making  one  of  the  most  desperate  fights  tinder  the 
most  unfavorable  circumstances  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  civil  war. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Henry  opened  the  way  for  the  Union  advance  to  Fort 
Donelson,  and  marked  the  first  step  of  the  United  States  Government 
toward  regaining  control  of  the  Mississippi.  It  broke  the  northern  battle- 
line  of  the  Confederacy,  and  never  again  was  that  line  re-established. 

With  Fort  Henry  fallen,  and  Gen.  Tilghman  and  his  little  garrison 
prisoners  on  the  Union  gunboats,  Grant's  soldier-boys  and  Foote's  blue- 
jackets began  active  preparations  for  continuing  the  conquest  of  Tennessee 
by  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson.  No  time  was  lost.  The  very  night  that 
the  stars  and  stripes  were  first  hoisted  over  the  bastion  of  Fort  Henry  saw 
three  of  Foote's  gunboats  steaming  up  the  river  on  a  reconnoitring  expedi- 
tion. Before  them  the  Confederates  fled  in  every  direction.  After  several 
hours'  advance,  they  came  to  a  heavy  railroad-bridge  spanning  the  river, 
and  effectually  preventing  further  progress.  Beyond  the  bridge  were 
several  Confederate  steamers,  black  with  men,  and  heavily  laden  with 
valuable  military  stores.  With  all  steam  on,  they  were  dashing  up  stream, 
and  rapidly  leaving  the  gunboats  behind.  Enraged  at  seeing  such  valuable 
prizes  slipping  through  their  hands,  the  Union  gunners  sent  shell  after 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  165 


shell  shrieking  after  the  flying  boats,  but  to  no  avail.  A  party  was  hastily 
landed  for  the  purpose  of  swinging  the  draw  of  the  bridge,  but  found  the 
machinery  broken,  and  the  ways  on  which  the  bridge  swung  twisted  and 
bent  out  of  shape.  An  hour's  hard  work  with  axes  and  crowbars,  and 
the  draw  was  swung  far  enough  to  let  pass  the  "  Conestoga "  and  the 
"  Lexington."  They  dashed  forward  like  greyhounds  slipped  from  the 
leash  ;  and,  after  several  hours'  hard  steaming,  a  smoke  over  the  tree-tops 
told  that  the  Confederate  fugitives  were  not  far  ahead.  Soon  a  bend  in  the 
river  was  passed;  and  there,  within  easy  range,  were  two  of  the  flying 
steamers.  A  commotion  was  visible  on  board,  and  boat  after  boat  was 
seen  to  put  off,  and  make  for  the  shore ;  on  reaching  which  the  crews 
immediately  plunged  into  the  woods,  and  were  out  of  sight  before  the 
gunboats  could  get  within  range.  Soon  light  blue  smoke  curling  from  the 
windows  of  the  steamers  told  that  they  had  been  fired ;  and  as  the  last 
boats  left  each  vessel,  she  ceased  her  onward  course,  and  drifted,  abandoned 
and  helpless,  down  the  stream.  When  within  about  a  thousand  yards  of  the 
two  gunboats,  the  deserted  steamers  blew  up  with  such  force,  that,  even  at 
that  great  distance,  the  glass  was  shattered  in  the  "  Conestoga,"  and  her 
woodwork  seriously  damaged. 

The  two  gunboats  leisurely  continued  their  excursion  into  the  heart  of 
the  enemy's  country.  Little  or  no  danger  was  to  be  feared.  At  that  time, 
the  Confederates  had  not  learned  to  plant  torpedoes  in  their  rivers,  to 
blow  the  enemy's  vessels  into  fragments.  There  was  no  artillery  stationed 
in  that  section  to  check  their  progress,  and  the  only  resistance  found  was 
an  occasional  rifle-shot  from  some  concealed  sharp-shooter  in  the  bushes 
on  the  shore.  On  the  /th  of  February  the  gunboats  reached  Cerro 
Gordo,  Tenn.  ;  and  here  they  made  a  valuable  capture.  The  Confederates 
had  been  at  work  for  weeks  converting  the  steamer  "  Eastport "  into  an 
iron-clad  ram  ;  and,  as  the  Union  vessels  came  up,  they  found  her  almost 
completed,  and  absolutely  without  defence.  Besides  the  new  vessel,  there 
was  in  the  shipyard  a  large  quantity  of  lumber  and  ship-timber,  which  was 
of  the  greatest  value  to  the  builders  of  the  river  navy.  The  two  gun- 
boats promptly  captured  all  this  property;  and  waiting  until  the  "Tyler," 


1 66  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '6r. 

which  had  been  detained  at  the  drawbridge,  came  up,  they  left  her  in 
charge,  and  continued  their  raid  into  the  enemy's  country.  Little  incident 
occurred  until  they  reached  the  head  of  navigation  of  the  river,  where 
they  found  all  the  Confederate  vessels  which  had  been  flying  before  them 
for  two  days.  These  were  burned,  and  the  two  gunboats  started  back  down 
the  river,  stopping  for  the  "  Eastport "  on  the  way.  The  captured  vessel 
was  afterwards  completed,  and  served  the  cause  of  the  Union  for  two  years, 
when  she  was  blown  up  on  the  Red  River. 

When  the  raiding  expedition  reached  Cairo,  the  officers  found  Foote 
getting  his  squadron  together  for  the  attack  on  Fort  Donelson.  This 
fortification  was  one  strongly  relied  upon  by  the  Confederates  for  the 
maintenance  of  their  northern  line  of  battle.  It  was  on  the  bank  of  the 
Cumberland  River,  nearly  opposite  the  site  of  Fort  Henry  on  the  Ten- 
nessee. A  garrison  of  at  least  fifteen  thousand  men  manned  the  works, 
and  were  commanded  by  no  less  than  three  generals ;  and  the  fact  that 
there  were  three  generals  in  command  had  much  to  do  with  the  fall  of  the 
fort.  Its  strength  was  rather  on  its  river-front.  Here  the  river  winds 
about  between  abrupt  hillsides,  and  on  the  front  of  one  of  these  hills  stood 
Fort  Donelson.  The  water-batteries  were  made  up  of  heavy  guns,  so 
mounted  as  to  command  the  river  for  miles.  On  the  landward  side  were 
heavy  earthworks,  abatis,  and  sharp  pointed  chevaux-de-frise. 

Against  this  fortification  marched  Grant  with  an  army  of  eighteen 
thousand  men,  and  Foote  with  his  flotilla  of  gunboats.  The  Sunday  before 
the  start,  Foote,  who  was  a  descendant  of  the  old  Puritans,  and  ever  as 
ready  to  pray  as  to  fight,  attended  church  in  a  little  meeting-house  at 
Cairo.  The  clergyman  did  not  appear  on  time ;  and  the  congregation 
waited,  until  many,  growing  weary,  were  leaving  the  church.  Then  the 
bluff  old  sailor  rose  in  his  pew,  and,  marching  to  the  pulpit,  delivered  a 
stirring  sermon,  offering,  thanks  for  the  victories  of  the  Union  arms,  and 
imploring  divine  aid  m  the  coming  struggles.  The  next  day  he  was 
on  his  way  to  hurl  shot  and  shell  at  the  men  in  the  trenches  of  Fort 
Donelson. 

While  the  capture  of   Fort  Henry  was   a  feather  in  the  caps  of   the 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  167 


sailor-boys  of  the  North,  Fort  Donelson  must  be  credited  to  the  valor  of 
the  soldiers.  Against  the  heavy  wall  of  the  water-batteries,  the  guns 
of  Foote's  little  flotilla  pounded  away  in  vain,  while  the  heavy  shells 
from  the  Confederate  cannon  did  dreadful  work  on  the  thinly  armored 
gunboats.  It  was  on  the  I3th  of  April  that  the  assault  was  opened  by 
the  "  Carondelet."  This  vessel  had  reached  the  scene  of  action  before  the 
rest  of  the  flotilla,  and  by  order  of  the  army  commander  tested  the  strength 
of  the  fort  by  a  day's  cannonade.  She  stationed  herself  about  a  mile 
from  the  batteries,  at  a  spot  where  she  would  be  somewhat  protected  by 
a  jutting  point,  and  began  a  deliberate  cannonade  with  her  bow-guns.  One 
hundred  and  thirty  shots  went  whizzing  from  her  batteries  against  the  front 
of  the  Confederate  batteries,  without  doing  any  serious  damage.  Then 
•came  an  iron  ball  weighing  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  fired  from 
a  heavy  gun,  which  burst  through  one  of  her  portholes,  and  scattered  men 
bleeding  and  mangled  in  every  direction  over  the  gundeck.  She  withdrew 
a  short  distance  for  repairs,  but  soon  returned,  and  continued  the  fire  the 
remainder  of  the  day.  When  evening  fell,  she  had  sent  one  hundred  and 
eighty  shells  at  the  fort,  with  the  result  of  killing  one  man.  This  was  not 
promising. 

The  next  day  the  attack  was  taken  up  by  all  the  gunboats.  The 
distance  chosen  this  time  was  four  hundred  yards,  and  the  fight  was  kept 
up  most  stubbornly.  It  was  St.  Valentine's  Day ;  and  as  the  swarthy 
sailors,  stripped  to  the  waist,  begrimed  with  powder,  and  stained  with 
blood,  rammed  huge  iron  balls  down  the  muzzles  of  the  guns,  they  said 
with  grim  pleasantry,  "  There's  a  valentine  for  the  gray-coats."  And  right 
speedily  did  the  gray-coats  return  the  gift.  Shot  and  shell  from  the 
batteries  came  in  volleys  against  the  sides  of  the  gunboats.  In  the  fort 
the  condition  of  affairs  was  not  serious.  The  shells  chiefly  fell  in  the  soft 
earth  of  the  hilltop  above,  and  embedded  themselves  harmlessly  in  the 
mud.  One  of  the  gunners  after  the  fight  said  :  "  We  were  more  bothered 
by  flying  mud  than  any  thing  else.  A  shell  bursting  up  there  would 
throw  out  great  clots  of  clay,  that  blocked  up  the  touch-holes  of  our  guns, 
spoiled  the  priming  of  our  shells,  and  plastered  up  the  faces  of  our  men. 


1 68  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

Of  course,  now  and  then  a  bit  of  shell  would  knock  some  poor  fellow  over  ; 
but,  though  we  were  all  green  hands  at  war,  we  expected  to  see  lots  more 
blood  and  carnage  than  the  Yankee  gunboats  dealt  out  to  us." 

The  gunboats,  however,  had  put  themselves  in  a  hot  place.  Twenty 
heavy  guns  on  the  hillside  high  above  were  hurling  solid  shot  down  on  the 
little  fleet.  The  sailors  stuck  to  their  work  well  ;  and  though  the  vessels 
were  in  a  fair  way  of  being  riddled,  they  succeeded  in  driving  the  enemy 
from  his  lower  battery.  But  the  upper  battery  was  impregnable ;  and  the 
gunners  there,  having  got  the  correct  range,  were  shooting  with  unpleasant 
precision.  Two  of  the  vessels  were  disabled  by  being  struck  in  the 
steering-chains.  On  the  "Carondelet"  a  piece  burst,  hurling  its  crew  bleed- 
ing on  the  deck.  No  vessel  escaped  with  less  than  twenty  wounds,  while 
the  flag-ship  was  hit  fifty-nine  times.  Commodore  Foote  was  wounded  in 
the  foot  by  a  heavy  splinter  ;  a  wound  from  which  he  never  fully  recovered, 
and  which  for  some  years  debarred  him  from  service  afloat. 

That  afternoon's  bombardment  showed  clearly  that  Fort  Donelson  could 
never  be  taken  by  the  navy.  When  Foote  ordered  his  gunboats  to  cease 
firing  and  drop  back  out  of  position,  the  Confederates  swarmed  back 
into  the  lower  battery  that  they  had  abandoned ;  and,  after  a  few  hours' 
work,  the  fort  was  as  strong  as  before  the  fight.  It  was  the  first  case 
in  the  history  of  the  war  in  which  the  navy  had  failed  to  reduce  the 
fortifications  against  which  it  had  been  ordered.  The  Hatteras  forts,  the 
works  at  Roanoke  Island  and  at  Hilton  Head,  Fort  Henry  —  all  had  fallen 
before  the  cannon  of  the  Union  sailors ;  and  Foote  may  well  be  pardoned 
if  he  yielded  to  Gen.  Grant  with  great  reluctance  the  honor  of  reducing 
Fort  Donelson.  For  two  days  Grant's  army  invested  the  fort,  and  kept 
up  a  constant  cannonade ;  then  the  defenders,  despairing  of  escape,  and 
seeing  no  use  of  further  prolonging  the  defence,  surrendered. 

The  capture  of  Fort  Donelson  was  an  important  success  for  the  Union 
arms.  In  addition  to  the  large  number  of  prisoners,  and  the  great  quantity 
of  munitions  of  war  captured,  the  destruction  of  the  fort  left  the  Cumber- 
land River  open  to  the  passage  of  the  Union  gunboats,  and  the  Confederate 
battle-line  was  moved  back  yet  another  point.  But  now  was  to  come 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  169 


a  most  heroic  test  of  the  power  of  the  river-navy*  and  the  army  of  the 
North. 

Some  sixty  miles  below  Cairo,  the  rushing,  tawny  current  of  the  mighty 
Mississippi  turns  suddenly  northward,  sweeping  back,  apparently,  toward 
its  source,  in  a  great  bend  eight  or  ten  miles  long.  At  the  point  where 
the  swift  current  sweeps  around  the  bend,  is  a  low-lying  island,  about  a 
mile  long  and  half  a  mile  wide.  This  is  known  as  Island  No.  10;  and  at 
the  opening  of  the  war,  it  was  supposed  to  hold  the  key  to  the  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi  River.  Here  the  Confederates  had  thrown  up  powerful 
earthworks,  the  heavy  guns  in  which  effectually  commanded  the  river,  both 
up  and  down  stream.  The  works  were  protected  against  a  land  bombard- 
ment by  the  fact  that  the  only  tenable  bit  of  land,  New  Madrid,  was  held 
by  Confederate  troops.  The  shores  of  the  Mississippi  about  Island  No. 
10  present  the  dreariest  appearance  imaginable.  The  Missouri  shore 
is  low  and  swampy.  In  1811  an  earthquake-shock  rent  the  land  asunder. 
Great  tracts  were  sunk  beneath  the  water-level  of  the  river.  Trees  were 
thrown  down,  and  lie  rotting  in  the  black  and  miasmatic  water.  Other 
portions  of  the  land  were  thrown  up,  rugged,  and  covered  with  rank 
vegetation,  making  hills  that  serve  only  as  places  of  refuge  for  water- 
moccasons  and  other  noxious  reptiles.  Around  this  dreary  waste  of  mud 
and  water,  the  river  rushes  in  an  abrupt  bend,  making  a  peninsula  ten  miles 
long  and  three  wide.  Below  this  peninsula  is  New  Madrid,  a  little  village 
in  the  least  settled  part  of  Missouri ;  here  the  Confederates  had  established 
an  army-post,  and  thrown  up  strong  intrenchments.  It  was  not,  however, 
upon  the  intrenchments  that  they  relied,  but  rather  upon  the  impassable 
morasses  by  which  they  were  surrounded  on  every  side.  In  New  Madrid 
were  posted  five  or  six  thousand  men  ;  a  small  fleet  of  Confederate  gunboats 
lay  in  the  stream  off  the  village ;  and  higher  up  the  river  was  Island  No. 
10,  with  its  frowning  bastions  and  rows  of  heavy  siege-guns,  prepared  to 
beat  back  all  advances  of  the  Union  troops. 

In  planning  for  the  attack  of  this  stronghold,  the  first  difficulty  found 
by  Commodore  Foote  lay  in  the  fact  that  his  gunboats  were  above  the 
batteries.  In  fighting  down  stream  in  that  manner,  the  ships  must  be 


170  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

kept  at  long  range  :  for,  should  a  shot  from  the  enemy  injure  the  engine 
or  boiler  of  a  gunboat,  the  vessel  is  doomed  ;  for  the  rapid  current  will  rush 
her  down  under  the  enemy's  guns,  and  her  capture  is  certain.  But  the  peril 
of  running  the  batteries  so  as  to  carry  on  the  fight  from  below  seemed 
too  great  to  be  ventured  upon ;  and  besides,  even  with  Island  No.  10 
passed,  there  would  still  be  the  batteries  of  New  Madrid  to  cope  with,  and 
the  gunboats  of  the  Confederates  to  take  the  ships  in  the  rear.  So  it  was 
•determined  that  the  navy  should  begin  a  bombardment  of  the  Confederate 
works,  while  the  army  under  Gen.  Pope  should  attend  to  New  Madrid. 
Accordingly,  on  March  15,  the  whiz  of  a  rifled  shell  from  the  flag-ship 
41  Benton"  announced  to  the  Confederates  that  the  North  wanted  the 
Mississippi  opened  for  travel. 

In  this  engagement  use  was  made  for  the  first  time  of  a  new  style  of 
vessel  known  as  mortar-boats,  which  in  later  conflicts  on  the  rivers  did 
great  service.  These  boats  were  simple  floats,  heavily  built,  and  calculated 
to  stand  the  most  terrible  shocks.  On  the  float  was  raised  a  sort  of  sheet- 
iron  fort  or  wall,  about  five  feet  high  ;  and  in  the  centre  stood  one  thirteen- 
inch  mortar.  The  mortar  is  the  earliest  of  all  forms  of  cannon,  and  was  in 
use  in  Europe  in  1435.  Its  name  is  derived  from  its  resemblance  to  an 
ordinary  druggist's  mortar.  The  great  thirteen-inch  mortars  used  in  the 
civil  war  weighed  seventeen  thousand  pounds,  and  threw  a  shell  thirteen 
inches  in  diameter.  These  shells  were  so  heavy  that  it  took  two  men  to 
bring  them  up  to  the  cannon's  mouth.  In  the  river-service,  the  mortar-boats 
were  moored  to  the  bank,  and  a  derrick  was  set  up  in  such  a  position  that 
the  shells  could  be  hoisted  up,  and  let  fall  into  the  yawning  iron  pot  below. 
Foote  had  fourteen  of  these  monsters  pounding  away  at  the  Confederates, 
and  the  roar  was  deafening. 

A  correspondent  of  the  "  Chicago  Times,"  who  was  with  the  fleet  at  the 
time  of  the  bombardment,  thus  describes  the  manner  of  using  these  im- 
mense cannon  :  "  The  operation  of  firing  the  mortars,  which  was  conducted 
when  we  were  near  by,  is  rather  stunning.  The  charge  is  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-two  pounds.  The  shell  weighs  two  hundred  and  thirty  pounds. 
For  a  familiar  illustration,  it  is  about  the  size  of  a  large  soup-plate.  So 


MORTAR-BOATS  AT  ISLAND  NO.   10. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  173, 


your  readers  may  imagine,  when  they  sit  down  to  dinner,  the  emotions  they 
would  experience  if  they  happened  to  see  a  ball  of  iron  of  those  dimen- 
sions coming  toward  them  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  miles  a  minute.  The 
boat  is  moored  alongside  the  shore,  so  as  to  withstand  the  shock  firmly,  and 
the  men  go  ashore  when  the  mortar  is  fired.  A  pull  of  the  string  does  the 
work,  and  the  whole  vicinity  is  shaken  with  the  concussion.  The  report 
is  deafening,  and  the  most  enthusiastic  person  gets  enough  of  it  with  twa 
or  three  discharges.  There  is  no  sound  from  the  shell  at  this  point  of 
observation,  and  no  indication  to  mark  the  course  it  is  taking;  but  in  a  few 
seconds  the  attentive  observer  with  a  good  glass  will  see  the  cloud  of  smoke 
that  follows  its  explosion,  and  then  the  report  comes  back  with  a  dull  boom. 
If  it  has  done  execution,  the  enemy  may  be  seen  carrying  off  their  killed 
and  wounded." 

And  so  from  mortar-boats  and  gunboats,  the  iron  hail  was  poured  upon 
the  little  island,  but  without  effect.  When  Foote  with  his  flotilla  first 
opened  fire,  he  thought  that  the  Confederate  works  would  be  swept  away 
in  a  day  or  two.  His  ordnance  was  the  heaviest  ever  seen  on  the 
Mississippi,  and  in  number  his  guns  were  enough  to  have  battered  down  a 
mountain.  But  his  days  grew  to  weeks,  and  still  the  flag  of  the  Con- 
federacy floated  above  Island  No.  10.  The  men  on  the  mortar-boats  were 
giving  way  under  the  tremendous  shocks  of  the  explosions.  Many  were 
rendered  deaf  for  days  at  a  time.  The  jar  of  the  explosions  brought  to 
the  surface  of  the  river  hundreds  of  old  logs  and  roots  that  had  lain  rotting 
in  the  soft  ooze  of  the  bottom.  When  all  the  mortars  were  engaged,  the 
surface  of  the  river  was  covered  with  foam  and  bubbles ;  and  men  by  the 
thousand  went  about  with  their  ears  stuffed  with  tow,  to  protect  them  against 
the  sound.  Yet,  after  weeks  of  such  firing,  Gen.  Beauregard  telegraphed 
to  Richmond,  that  the  Yankees  had  "thrown  three  thousand  shells,  and 
burned  fifty  tons  of  gunpowder,"  without  injuring  his  batteries  in  the  least. 

The  Confederates  remained  passive  in  their  trenches.  They  had  no 
guns  that  would  carry  far  enough  to  reply  to  Foote's  mortars,  and  they  did 
not  wish  to  waste  powder.  It  was  galling  to  stand  fire  without  replying ; 
but,  fortunately  for  them,  the  fire  was  not  very  deadly,  and  but  few  were 


174  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

injured.  When,  however,  a  shell  did  fall  within  the  works,  it  made  work 
enough  to  repair  damages,  as  by  its  explosion  a  hole  as  large  as  a  small 
house  would  be  torn  in  the  ground.  But  for  every  one  that  fell  within  the 
batteries,  twenty  fell  outside.  Some  strange  freaks  are  recorded  of  the  shells. 
One  fell  on  a  cannon,  around  which  eight  or  ten  men  were  lying.  The  gun- 
carriage  was  blown  to  pieces,  but  not  a  man  was  hurt.  Another  fell  full 
on  the  head  of  a  man  who  was  walking  about  distributing  rations,  and  not 
so  much  as  a  button  from  his  uniform  was  ever  found. 

But  while  the  navy  was  thus  playing  at  bowls  with  great  guns,  the 
army  had  marched  through  the  interior,  captured  New  Madrid,  and 
obtained  a  foothold  below  Island  No.  10.  Thus  the  Confederates  were 
surrounded ;  and  the  very  impassability  of  the  land,  that  had  been  an 
advantage  to  them,  now  told  against  them,  for  it  cut  off  all  hope 
of  re-enforcements.  Gen.  Pope's  position  was  such  that  he  could  not  get 
at  the  island,  nor  secure  a  commanding  position,  without  aid  from  the  navy. 
He  begged  Foote  to  try  to  run  the  batteries  ;  but  the  commodore  replied, 
that  the  risk  was  greater  than  the  prospective  gain,  and  continued  his 
cannonade.  Then  a  new  idea  was  broached.  By  cutting  a  canal  through 
the  bayous,  swamps,  and  woods  of  the  peninsula,  the  lighter  vessels  could 
be  taken  by  the  fort  without  risk,  and  Foote  would  then  dare  the  dangers 
of  a  dash  by  in  the  gunboats.  Every  one  said  that  such  a  canal  was 
impossible ;  but  the  men  of  the  North  were  given  to  doing  impossible 
things  in  those  days,  and  while  Foote's  mortar-boats  continued  their 
thunder,  fifteen  hundred  men  were  set  to  work  cutting  a  way  through  the 
noisome  swamps.  A  channel  forty  feet  wide  must  be  made.  First  gangs 
of  men  with  axes  and  saws,  working  in  three  feet  of  water,  went  ahead, 
cutting  down  the  rank  vegetation.  As  fast  as  a  little  space  was  cleared, 
a  small  steamer  went  in,  and  with  dredge  and  steam-capstan  hauled  out 
the  obstructions.  In  some  places  the  surveyed  channel  was  so  filled  with 
drift-wood,  fallen  trees,  and  tangled  roots,  that  the  labor  of  a  thousand 
men  for  a  day  seemed  to  make  no  impression.  When  the  canal  was  pretty 
well  blocked  out,  the  levee  was  cut ;  and  the  rush  of  the  waters  from  the 
great  river  undermined  trees,  and  piled  up  new  obstacles  for  the  steamers 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  175 


to  tow  away.  Amid  the  foulest  vapors  the  men  worked,  and  more  than  a 
thousand  were  sent  to  the  hospital  with  chills  and  fever,  and  rheumatism. 
The  most  venomous  snakes  lurked  in  the  dark  recesses  of  the  swamp ;  on 
cypress-stumps  or  floating  logs  the  deadly  water-moccason  lay  stretched  out, 
ready  to  bite  without  warning.  Wherever  there  was  a  bit  of  dry  ground, 
the  workers  were  sure  to  hear  the  rattle  of  the  rattlesnake.  Sometimes 
whole  nests  of  these  reptiles  would  be  uncovered. 

The  work  was  continued  day  and  night.  When  the  failing  daylight 
ceased  to  make  its  way  through  the  thickly  intwined  branches  of  trees 
and  climbing  vines,  great  torches  would  be  lighted,  and  by  their  fitful  glare 
the  soldiers  and  sailors  worked  on  in  the  water  and  mud.  The  light 
glared  from  the  furnaces  of  the  steamers,  lighting  up  the  half-naked  forms 
of  the  stokers.  Now  and  then  some  dry  vine  or  tree  would  catch  a  spark 
from  a  torch,  and  in  an  instant  would  be  transformed  into  a  pillar  of  fire. 
After  eight  days  of  work  the  canal  was  finished,  and  was  found  to  be  of 
sufficient  depth  for  the  passage  of  the  transports.  And  now  Commodore 
Foote  saw  that  the  time  had  come  when  he  must  attempt  to  run  his 
gunboats  past  the  forts,  be  the  danger  what  it  might. 

On  April  I,  Foote  ordered  a  reconnoissance  of  the  batteries,  and  this 
order  evoked  one  of  the  most  daring  deeds  in  the  history  of  the  war. 
The  night  was  pitchy  dark,  and  heavy  clouds  were  driven  across  the  sky 
by  a  strong,  damp  wind,  that  told  of  a  coming  storm.  In  five  boats  a  party 
of  fifty  sailors  and  fifty  soldiers  put  off  from  the  fleet,  prepared  to  go  down 
and  beard  the  Confederate  lion  in  his  den.  Hardly  had  they  started 
on  their  perilous  expedition,  when  the  rain  began  falling  in  sheets,  and 
now  and  again  flashes  of  lightning  made  the  dark  shores  visible  for  an 
instant,  then  the  black  night  hid  every  thing  again  from  view.  It  was 
midnight,  and  the  fierceness  of  the  wind  added  to  the  terror  of  the  moment. 
On  the  banks,  the  great  forest-trees  were  bending  and  groaning  before 
the  blast,  while  the  broad  surface  of  the  river  was  lashed  into  foaming 
billows.  Under  cover  of  the  darkness  the  little  band  passed  rapidly  down 
the  river ;  past  the  shore-batteries  and  past  the  Confederate  picket-boats, 
they  sped  unseen.  When  they  were  within  a  few  feet  of  the  shore,  a  flash 


1 76  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

of  lightning  revealed  them  for  just  an  instant  to  the  sentries.  Then  all 
was  black,  save  for  the  quick  flashes  of  the  sentries'  guns  as  they  gave 
the  alarm  and  fell  back.  The  Federals  landed  rapidly,  and  drove  the 
confused  Confederates  from  the  battery.  Then  began  the  work  of  spiking 
the  guns.  Every  fifth  man  carried  a  number  of  rat-tail  files,  which  were 
to  be  driven  into  the  vents  of  the  cannon,  and  then  broken  off.  While 
the  raiders  were  engaged  in  this  work,  the  Confederates  rallied,  and  soon 
drove  back  the  blue-jackets  to  their  boats,  with  a  slight  loss  in  killed  and 
captured.  How  many  guns  they  had  disabled,  it  is  hard  to  say.  In  the 
excitement  and  glory  of  successful  adventure,  the  reports  were  much 
exaggerated.  Histories  of  that  date  depict  the  men  as  calmly  spiking 
every  gun,  and  then  retiring  deliberately.  One  writer  claims  that  only 
one  gun  was  spiked.  However,  testimony  from  Confederates  on  duty  in 
the  batteries  goes  to  show  that  four  guns  were  totally  disabled.  But  the 
true  value  of  the  adventure  to  the  Union  forces  was  the  dash  and  valor 
it  disclosed,  and  the  encouragement  the  people  received  from  its  success. 

The  next  day  after  this  successful  exploit,  a  gunboat,  the  "  Carondelet," 
was  made  ready  to  try  the  dash  past  the  batteries  of  Island  No.  10. 
Again  the  weather  was  favorable  to  the  plans  of  the  Federals,  for  the 
night  was  as  dark  and  wild  as  the  one  before.  The  day  had  been  clear,, 
and  the  night  opened  with  so  bright  a  moon  that  for  a  time  it  was  thought 
that  the  project  would  have  to  be  abandoned ;  but  toward  ten  o'clock 
a  heavy  thunder-storm  came  up,  and  soon  the  black  sky,  the  wildly  waving 
tree-tops,  and  the  sheets  of  rain  scudding  across  the  river,  gave  promise 
of  a  suitable  night. 

All  day  the  sailors  on  the  "  Carondelet "  had  been  working  busily,, 
getting  their  vessel  in  trim  for  the  trip.  Heavy  planks  were  laid  along  the 
deck,  to  ward  off  plunging  shot.  Chain  cables  were  coiled  about  all  weak 
points,  cord-wood  was  piled  around  the  boilers,  and  the  pilot-house  was 
wrapped  round  and  about  with  heavy  hawsers.  On  the  side  toward  the 
battery  was  tied  a  large  barge,  piled  high  with  cotton-bales.  When  the 
time  for  starting  drew  nigh,  all  lights  were  extinguished.  The  guns  were 
run  in,  and  the  ports  closed.  The  sailors,  heavily  armed,  were  sent  to  their 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  177 


stations.  Muskets,  revolvers,  and  sabres  were  in  the  racks.  Down  in 
the  boiler-room  the  stokers  were  throwing  coal  upon  the  roaring  fires ;  and 
in  the  engine-room  the  engineer  stood  with  his  hand  on  the  throttle, 
waiting  for  the  signal  to  get  under  way. 

Towards  eleven  o'clock  the  time  seemed  propitious  for  starting.  The 
storm  was  at  its  height,  and  the  roll  of  the  thunder  would  drown  the  beat  of 
the  steamer's  paddles.  The  word  was  given  ;  and  the  "  Carondelet,"  with 
her  two  protecting  barges,  passed  out  of  sight  of  the  flotilla,  and  down 
towards  the  cannon  of  the  enemy.  For  the  first  half-mile  all  went  well. 
The  vessel  sped  along  silently  and  unseen.  The  men  on  the  gun-deck, 
unable  to  see  about,  sat  breathlessly,  expecting  that  at  any  moment  a  can- 
non-ball might  come  crashing  through  the  side  into  their  midst.  Suddenly 
from  the  towering  smoke-stacks,  burst  out  sheets  of  flame  five  feet  high, 
caused  by  the  burning  soot  inside,  and  lighting  up  the  river  all  about. 
Quickly  extinguished,  they  quickly  broke  out  again  ;  and  now  from  the  camp 
of  the  alarmed  enemy  came  the  roll  of  the  drum,  and  the  ringing  notes  of 
the  bugle  sounding  the  alarm.  A  gunboat  was  bearing  down  on  the  works, 
and  the  Confederates  sprang  to  their  guns  with  a  will.  The  men  on  the 
"  Carondelet  "  knew  what  to  expect,  and  soon  it  came.  Five  signal  rockets 
rushed  up  into  the  sky,  and  in  an  instant  thereafter  came  the  roar  of  a  great 
gun  from  one  of  the  batteries.  Then  all  joined  in,  and  the  din  became 
terrible.  With  volley  after  volley  the  Confederates  hurled  cannon-balls, 
shells,  musket,  and  even  pistol-bullets  at  the  flying  ship,  that  could  only  be 
seen  an  instant  at  a  time  by  the  fitful  flashes  of  the  lightning.  On  the 
"  Carondelet  "  all  was  still  as  death.  The  men  knew  the  deadly  peril  they 
were  in,  and  realized  how  impossible  it  was  for  them  to  make  any  fight.  In 
the  black  night,  threading  the  crooked  and  ever-changing  channel  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  it  was  impossible  to  go  more  than  half-speed.  In  the 
bow  men  were  stationed  casting  the  lead,  and  calling  out  the  soundings 
to  the  brave  old  Capt.  Hoel,  who  stood  on  the  upper  deck  unprotected 
from  the  storm  of  bullets,  and  repeated  the  soundings  to  Capt.  Walker. 
So  through  the  darkness,  through  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell,  the 
"  Carondelet "  kept  on  her  way.  Past  the  land-batteries,  past  the  rows  of 


I  78  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

cannon  on  the  island,  and  past  the  formidable  floating  battery,  she  swept 
uninjured.  Heavy  and  continuous  as  was  the  fire  of  the  Confederates,  it 
was  mainly  without  aim.  The  hay-barge  was  hit  three  times,  but  not  a 
scar  was  on  the  gunboat  when  she  stopped  before  the  water-front  of  New 
Madrid  after  twenty  minutes'  run  through  that  dreadful  fire. 

And  now  the  roar  of  the  great  guns  had  died  away,  and  the  men  on 
the  vessels  of  the  flotilla  up  the  river  were  all  anxiety  to  know  what  had 
been  the  fate  of  their  gallant  comrades  on  the  "  Carondelet."  All  the 
time  the  battle  raged,  the  decks  of  the  ships  at  anchor  were  crowded  with 
sailors  looking  eagerly  down  the  river,  and  trying  to  make  out  by  the 
blinding  flashes  of  the  cannon  the  dark  form  of  a  gunboat  speeding  by 
the  hostile  camp.  Now  all  is  silent ;  the  roar  of  battle  is  over,  the  flash 
of  gunpowder  no  more  lights  up  the  night.  But  what  has  become  of  the 
gallant  men  who  braved  that  tempest  of  steel  and  iron  ?  Are  they  floating 
down  the  troubled  waters  beneath  the  wreck  of  their  vessel  ?  It  was  a 
moment  of  suspense.  After  a  few  minutes'  silence,  there  comes  through 
the  strangely  quiet  air  the  deep  boom  of  a  heavy  gun.  It  had  been  agreed, 
that,  if  the  "  Carondelet  "  made  the  passage  of  the  batteries  safely,  she 
should  fire  six  heavy  guns.  The  old  tars  on  the  decks  say  softly  to  them- 
selves, "One."  Then  comes  another,  and  a  third,  and  still  more,  until 
suddenly  a  ringing  cheer  goes  up  from  the  flotilla,  louder  than  the  thunder 
itself.  Men  dance  for  joy;  grizzled  tars  fall  into  each  other's  arms,  sing, 
shout,  cry.  An  answering  salute  goes  booming  back,  rockets  scud  up  into 
the  clouds  ;  and  Commodore  Foote,  with  a  heart  too  full  for  talking,  goes 
down  into  his  cabin  to  be  alone. 

That  night's  work  by  the  "  Carondelet "  terminated  Confederate  domain 
on  Island  No.  10.  The  next  night  another  gunboat  came  down,  and  the 
two  set  to  work  carrying  the  troops  across  the  river,  protecting  artillery- 
men engaged  in  erecting  batteries,  and  generally  completing  the  invest- 
ment of  the  island.  In  two  days  every  loop-hole  of  escape  for  the  Con- 
federates is  closed,  —  gunboats  above  and  below  them,  batteries  peering 
down  from  every  bluff,  and  regiments  of  infantry,  all  prepared  to  move 
upon  the  works.  They  made  one  or  two  ineffectual  but  plucky  attempts  to 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  179 


ward  off  capture.  One  private  soldier  swam  ashore,  skulked  past  the 
Union  pickets,  and  made  his  way  to  one  of  the  Union  mortar-boats. 
He  succeeded  in  getting  to  the  mortar,  and  successfully  spiked  it,  thus 
terminating  its  usefulness.  A  second  Confederate  succeeded  in  reaching 

o  o 

the  deck  of  the  mortar-boat,  but  while  making  his  way  across  the  deck 
tripped  and  fell.  The  rat-tail  file  he  was  carrying  was  driven  into  his  side, 
making  a  wound  from  which  he  died  in  two  hours.  A  third  man,  reckless 
of  life,  set  out  in  a  canoe  to  blow  up  a  gunboat.  He  carried  with  him  a 
fifty-pound  keg  of  gunpowder,  which  he  proposed  to  strap  on  the  rudder- 
post  of  the  vessel.  He  succeeded  in  getting  under  the  stern  of  the  vessel ; 
but  the  gleam  of  his  lighted  match  alarmed  the  sentry,  who  fired,  hitting 
him  in  the  shoulder.  The  Confederate  went  overboard,  and  managed  to 
get  ashore ;  while  his  keg  of  powder,  with  the  fuse  lighted,  went  drifting 
down  stream.  Soon  it  exploded,  throwing  up  an  immense  column  of  water, 
and  showing  that  it  would  have  sent  the  stoutest  vessel  to  the  bottom  had 
it  been  properly  placed. 

But  such  struggles  as  these  could  not  long  avert  the  impending  disaster. 
The  Confederates  were  hemmed  in  on  every  side.  It  was  true  that  they 
had  a  strong  position,  and  could  make  a  desperate  resistance  ;  but  they  were 
separated  from  their  friends,  and  their  final  downfall  was  but  a  question 
of  time.  Appreciating  this  fact,  they  surrendered  two  days  after  the 
"  Carondelet "  had  passed  the  batteries  ;  and  Foote  made  his  second  step 
(this  time  one  of  sixty  miles)  toward  the  conquest  of  the  Mississippi. 

To-day  nothing  remains  of  the  once  extensive  island,  save  a  small  sand- 
bank in  the  middle  of  the  great  river.  The  rushing  current  of  the  Father 
of  Waters  has  done  its  work,  and  Island  No.  10  is  now  a  mere  tradition. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


FAMOUS      CONFEDERATE      PRIVATEERS,  -  THE      "ALABAMA,"      THE     "  SHENANDOAH,"      THE 

"  NASHVILLE." 

ET  us  now  desert,  for  a  time,  the  progress  of  the  Union  forces 
down  the  Mississippi  River,  and  turn  our  attention  toward  the 
true  home  of  the  sailors, — the  blue  waters  of  the  ocean.  We 
have  heard  much,  from  many  sources,  of  the  exploits  of  the 
Confederate  commerce-destroyers,  privateers,  or,  as  the  Union  authorities 
and  the  historians  of  the  war  period  loved  to  call  them,  the  "  Rebel  pirates." 
In  the  course  of  this  narrative  we  have  already  dealt  with  the  career  of 
the  "Sumter,"  one  of  the  earliest  of  these  vessels.  A  glance  at  the  career 
of  the  most  famous  of  all  the  Confederate  cruisers,  the  "  Alabama,"  will  be 
interesting. 

This  vessel  was  built  in  England,  ostensibly  as  a  merchant-vessel, 
although  her  heavy  decks  and  sides,  and  her  small  hatchways,  might  have 
warned  the  English  officials  that  she  was  intended  for  purposes  of  war. 
Before  she  was  finished,  however,  the  customs-house  people  began  to  suspect 
her  character ;  and  goaded  on  by  the  frequent  complaints  of  the  United 
States  minister,  that  a  war-vessel  was  being  built  for  the  Confederates, 
they  determined  to  seize  her.  But  customs-house  officials  do  things  slowly ; 
and,  while  they  were  getting  ready  for  the  seizure,  Capt.  Semmes,  who  had 
180 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  181 

taken  command  of  the  new  ship,  duped  them,  and  got  his  vessel  safely 
out  of  English  waters.  Private  detectives  and  long-shore  customs  officers 
had  been  visiting  the  ship  daily  on  visits  of  examination ;  but,  by  the  aid 
of  champagne  and  jolly  good-fellowship,  their  inexperienced  eyes  were 
easily  blinded  to  the  manifest  preparations  for  a  war-like  cruise.  But 
finally  came  a  retired  naval  officer  who  was  not  to  be  humbugged.  A 
sailor  on  board  thus  tells  the  story  of  his  visit :  "  He  was  evidently 
a  naval  officer,  alert  and  resolute,  and  soon  silenced  the  officer's  explana- 
tions. He  looked  at  the  hatchways,  shot-racks,  and  magazines ;  and,  sur- 
veying the  hammock-hooks  on  the  berth-deck,  said,  'You'll  have  a  large 
crew  for  a  merchant-steamer.'  We  had  taken  on  board  some  heavy  oak 
plank,  that  lay  on  the  main  deck ;  the  officer  remarked  that  they  were  for 
anchor-stocks,  and  was  shortly  answered,  'Wouldn't  make  bad  gun-plat- 
forms, sir,'  which,  indeed,  was  jrst  what  they  were  intended  for.  With 
a  '  Good-morning,  sir,'  our  visitor  mounted  the  side  and  was  gone."  This 
visit  alarmed  the  Confederates ;  and  immediate  preparations  were  made 
to  run  the  ship,  which  still  went  by  the  name  of  the  "  No.  290,"  out  of 
the  British  waters  the  next  day.  To  disarm  suspicion,  a  large  party  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen  were  invited  aboard;  and  the  ship  started  down 'the 
Mersey,  ostensibly  on  her  trial  trip,  with  the  sounds  of  music  and  popping 
corks  ringing  from  her  decks.  But  peaceful  and  merry  as  the  start  seemed, 
it  was  the  beginning  of  a  voyage  that  was  destined  to  bring  ruin  to 
hundreds  of  American  merchants,  and  leave  many  a  good  United  States 
vessel  a  smoking  ruin  on  the  breast  of  the  ocean.  When  she  was  a  short 
distance  down  the  river,  two  tugs  were  seen  putting  off  from  the  shore ; 
and  in  a  moment  the  astonished  guests  were  requested  to  leave  the  ship, 
and  betake  themselves  homeward  in  the  tugs.  It  is  unnecessary  to  follow 
the  voyage  of  the  "  No.  290 "  to  Nassau,  and  detail  the  way  in  which 
cannon,  ammunition,  and  naval  stores  were  sent  out  from  Portsmouth  in 
a  second  vessel,  and  transferred  to  her  just  outside  of  Nassau.  It  is  enough 
to  say  that  on  a  bright,  clear  Sunday  morning,  in  the  latter  part  of  August, 
1862,  Capt.  Rafael  Semmes,  late  of  the  Confederate  cruiser  "  Sumter," 
a  gentleman  of  middle  height,  wearing  a  uniform  of  gray  and  gold,  his 


1 82  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

dark  mustache  waxed  to  such  sharp  points  that  one  would  think  him  a 
Frenchman  rather  than  a  Southerner,  stood  on  the  quarter-deck  of  the 
"  No.  290,"  with  his  crew  mustered  before  him,  reading  out  his  commission 
from  Jefferson  Davis,  as  commander  of  the  Confederate  States'  steam- 
sloop  "Alabama."  As  he  read,  an  old  master's-mate,  standing  at  the 
peak-halyards,  begins  pulling  at  the  ropes.  The  British  ensign,  carried 
through  the  ship's  anonymous  days,  comes  fluttering  down,  and  in  its  place 
runs  up  the  white  naval  ensign  of  the  Confederacy,  with  the  starry  Southern 
cross  in  the  red  field  of  the  corner.  Then  the  reading  is  ended.  Boom  I 
goes  the  starboard  forecastle-gun.  The  band  bursts  forth  with  the  stirring 
notes  of  Dixie;  and  the  sailors,  after  three  ringing  cheers,  crowd  forward 
to  wait  for  further  developments.  Soon  the  sailors  are  summoned  aft 
again,  and  Capt.  Semmes  addresses  them.  He  tells  them  that,  as  the 
"Alabama"  is  to  be  a  ship-of-war,  they  are  released  from  their  shipping 
contracts,  but  are  invited  to  ship  under  the  new  plan.  He  briefly  details 
the  purpose  of  the  cruise.  The  "  Alabama "  is  to  be  a  bird  of  passage, 
flitting  from  port  to  port,  and  hovering  about  the  highways  of  travel,  to 
lie  in  wait  for  the  merchant-vessels  of  the  North.  Armed  vessels  she  will 
avoid  as  much  as  possible,  confining  her  warfare  to  the  helpless  merchant- 
men. It  is  hardly  a  glorious  programme,  but  it  seems  to  bear  the  promise 
of  prize-money ;  and  before  the  day  is  over  Capt.  Semmes  has  shipped  a 
crew  of  eighty  men,  and  with  these  the  "Alabama"  begins  her  cruise.  The 
remainder  of  the  sailors  are  sent  ashore,  and  the  "Alabama"  starts  off 
under  sail,  in  search  of  her  first  capture. 

Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  this  vessel,  perhaps  the  most  famous 
of  all  cruisers.  She  was  a  fast  screw-steamer,  of  a  little  more  than  a 
thousand  tons'  burden.  Her  screw  was  so  arranged  that  it  could  be  hoisted 
out  of  the  water ;  and,  as  the  saving  of  coal  was  a  matter  of  necessity,  the 
"Alabama"  did  most  of  her  cruising  under  sail.  Her  hull  was  of  wood, 
v/ith  no  iron  plating,  and  her  battery  consisted  of  but  eight  light  guns  ; 
two  facts  which  made  it  necessary  that  she  should  avoid  any  conflicts  with 
the  powerful  ships  of  the  United  States  navy.  Her  lines  were  beautifully 
fine ;  and,  as  she  sped  swiftly  through  the  water,  Capt.  Semmes  felt  that 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  1 8 


his  vessel  could  escape  the  Northern  cruisers  as  easily  as  she  could  overhaul 
the  lumbering  merchantmen.  The  crew  was  a  turbulent  one,  picked  up 
in  the  streets  of  Liverpool,  and  made  up  of  men  of  all  nationalities. 
Terrific  rows  would  arise  in  the  forecastle,  and  differences  between  the 
sailors  were  often  settled  by  square  stand-up  fights.  The  petty  officers 
seldom  interfered  ;  one  old  boatswain  remarking,  when  he  heard  the  noise 
of  blows  in  the  forecastle,  "  Blast  them,  let  'em  slug  one  another's  heads 
off ;  it  will  keep  'em  out  of  mischief."  And  it  generally  did,  for  the 
combatants  were  usually  fast  friends  the  next  day. 

As  soon  as  the  new  ship  was  cleaned  up,  and  put  in  order,  drill  began. 
The  men  were  all  green  ;  and  hard,  steady  work  at  the  guns,  and  with  the 
cutlasses,  was  necessary  to  fit  them  for  service.  The  decks  resounded  with 
"right,"  "  lefo,"  "head  protect,"  "right  overcut."  The  men  were  slow  in 
learning  ;  but  the  officers  were  Southerners,  devoted  to  their  cause,  and 
were  tireless  in  getting  the  crew  into  shape. 

After  several  days  of  cruising  and  drill,  a  vessel  was  sighted  which  was 
unmistakably  American.  One  of  the  sailors  tells  the  story  of  her  capture 
graphically.  "  On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  September  the  cry  of  '  ship 
ahoy !  '  from  the  masthead  brought  all  hands  on  deck.  Sure  enough,  about 
two  miles  to  the  leeward  of  us  was  a  fine  barque,  at  once  pronounced  a 
'spouter'  (whaler),  and  an  American.  In  order  to  save  coal,  —  of  which 
very  essential  article  we  had  about  three  hundred  tons  aboard,  —  we  never 
used  our  screw  unless  absolutely  necessary.  We  were  on  the  starboard 
tack,  and  with  the  fresh  breeze  soon  came  alongside.  We  had  the 
American  flag  set,  and  the  chase  showed  the  stars  and  stripes.  A  gun  was 
fired ;  and,  as  we  came  within  hail,  we  gave  the  order,  '  Back  your  main- 
sail ;  I'll  send  a  boat  on  board  of  you.' 

" '  Cutter  away,'  and  the  boat  came  down  from  the  davits,  and  we 
pulled  for  our  first  prize.  It  soon  became  a  vain  thing,  and  tiresome  ;  but 
this  our  first  essay  was  a  novelty,  and  we  made  the  stretches  buckle  with 
our  impatience  to  get  aboard.  The  bowman  hooked  on  to  the  chains,  and 
we  went  up  the  side  like  cats.  When  we  got  aft,  the  captain  asked  in  a 
dazed  sort  of  manner,  'Why  —  why — what  does  this  mean?'  The  master, 


1 84  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


Fullam,  replied,  'You  are  prize  to  the  Confederate  steamer  "Alabama," 
Capt.  Semmes  commanding.  I'll  trouble  you  for  your  papers.'  Now,  this 
man  had  been  four  years  out,  and  had  no  doubt  heard  of  the  trouble  at 
home ;  but  he  couldn't  realize  this,  and  he  stared,  and  said,  '  Confederate 
government  —  Alabama  —  why,  that's  a  State,'  and  then  was  sternly  told 
to  get  his  papers.  We  were  ordered  to  put  the  crew  in  irons,  and  they, 
too,  seemed  utterly  dumbfounded ;  and  one  poor  fellow  said  to  me,  '  Must  I 
lose  all  my  clothes  ? '  I  answered,  '  Yes,'  but  advised  him  to  put  on  all  he 
could,  and  if  he  had  any  money  to  slip  it  in  his  boot.  '  Money !  I  h'aint 
seen  a  dollar  for  three  years  ;  but  I'm  obliged  to  ye  all  the  same.'  " 

Then,  after  searching  the  vessel  for  valuables,  the  captives  were  taken 
back  to  the  "Alabama,"  while  one  boat's-crew  remained  behind  to  fire  the 
vess¥el. 

"  She  was  loaded  with  oil,"  writes  sailor  Haywood ;  "  and,  when  it 
caught,  a  high  column  of  dense  black  smoke  poured  out  of  the  hatchways, 
and  spread  in  vast  involutions  to  the  leeward.  Soon  the  red  forked  flames 
began  to  climb  her  masts,  and  her  spars  glowed  with  light;  with  a  crash 
her  mainmast  fell,  carrying  the  foremast  with  it,  and  sending  a  shower  of 
sparks  high  in  the  air ;  her  stout  sides  seemed  to  burst  open ;  and  what  was 
a  stately  ship  was  now  a  blackened  hulk,  the  rising  sea  breaking  in  white- 
caps  over  it,  and  at  last,  with  a  surge  and  wallow,  sinking  out  of  sight." 
Alone,  by  one  of  the  lee-ports,  the  ruined  American  captain  stood,  looking 
sadly  upon  the  end  of  all  his  long  four  years'  labor.  For  this  he  had  borne 
the  icy  hardships  of  the  Arctic  seas.  The  long,  dreary  four  years  of  separa- 
tion from  wife  and  home  had  been  lightened  by  the  thought,  that  by  a 
prosperous  voyage  he  might  bring  home  enough  money  to  stay  always  in 
the  little  shingled  cottage  in  the  narrow  street  of  some  New  England 
fishing-village  ;  but  now  all  that  was  over.  When  he  should  arrive  home 
he  would  be  penniless,  with  nothing  but  the  clothes  on  his  back,  and  all 
because  of  a  war  of  the  very  existence  of  which  he  knew  nothing.  It  was 
hard  to  bear,  but  war  brings  nothing  but  affliction. 

After  this  capture,  the  "  Alabama  "  had  a  lively  season  for  several  weeks, 
capturing  often  two  or  three  vessels  a  day.  Generally  they  met  with  no 


LOOTING   A   PRIZE. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  187 

resistance ;  but  occasionally  the  blood  of  some  old  sea-dog  would  boil,  and 
he  would  do  the  best  in  his  power  to  injure  his  captors.  A  story  of  one 
such  incident  was  thus  told  by  one  of  the  "Alabama's  "  crew  :  — 

"  When  we  ran  around  in  search  of  whalers,  we  came  upon  a  Yankee 
skipper  who  didn't  know  what  surrender  meant.  We  were  just  well  to  the 
west  of  the  stormy  cape,  when  one  morning  after  breakfast  we  raised  a 
whaler..  He  was  headed  up  the  coast,  and  about  noon  we  overhauled  him. 
He  paid  no  attention  to  the  first  shot,  and  it  was  only  when  the  second  one 
hulled  him  that  he  came  into  the  wind.  It  was  then  seen  that  he  had  fifteen 
or  sixteen  men  aboard,  and  that  all  were  armed  with  muskets,  and  meant  to 
defend  the  ship.  The  lieutenant  was  sent  off  with  his  boat ;  but  no  sooner 
was  he  within  fair  musket-range,  than  the  whaler  opened  on  him,  killing  one 
man,  and  wounding  two,  at  the  first  volley.  The  officer  pushed  ahead,  and 
demanded  a  surrender ;  but  he  got  another  volley,  and  the  reply  that  the 
whaler  '  would  go  to  the  bottom  before  he  would  surrender  to  a  Rebel ! ' 

"The  boat  was  recalled,  and  our  gunners  were  instructed  to  hull  the 
whaler  with  solid  shot.  We  approached  him  within  rifle-range,  and  opened 
fire.  Every  one  of  the  balls  plumped  through  his  side  at  and  above  the 
water-line,  and  he  answered  with  his  muskets,  severely  wounding  two  men. 
He  was  repeatedly  hailed  to  surrender,  but  in  reply  he  encouraged  his  men 
to  maintain  their  fire.  We  soon  had  the  sea  pouring  into  his  starboard 
side  through  a  dozen  holes  ;  and  when  it  was  seen  that  he  would  soon  go 
-down,  we  ceased  firing,  and  again  demanded  his  surrender.  I  can  remember 
just  how  he  looked  as  he  sprang  upon  the  rail,  —  tall,  gaunt,  hair  flying,  and 
eyes  blazing, — and  shouted  in  reply, — 

"'The  'Ben  Scott'  don't  surrender!     Come  and  take  us  —  if  you  can.' 

"  Five  minutes  later  his  craft  settled  down,  bow  first.  We  lowered 
the  boats  to  save  his  crew,  and,  strangely  enough,  not  a  man  was  lost. 
When  we  brought  them  aboard,  the  Yankee  skipper  walked  up  to  Semmes, 
bareheaded,  barefooted,  and  coatless,  and  said,  — 

"  '  If  I'd  only  have  had  one  old  cannon  aboard,  we'd  have  licked  ye  out 
•of  yer  butes  !     Here  we  are,  and  what  are  ye  going  to  do  with  us  ? ' 

"  He  was  voted  a  jolly  good  fellow,  and  the  crew  were  better  treated 


1 88  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


than  any  other  ever  forced  aboard.  In  order  to  give  them  their  liberty, 
the  very  next  capture  we  made  was  bonded,  and  they  were  put  aboard 
to  sail  for  home." 

But  now  the  decks  of  the  "Alabama"  were  getting  rather  uncom- 
fortably crowded  with  prisoners,  and  it  became  necessary  to  put  into  some 
port  where  they  could  be  landed.  Accordingly  the  ship  was  headed  for 
Martinique,  and  soon  lay  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  that  place,  where  she 
began  coaling.  While  she  lay  there,  a  Yankee  schooner  put  into  the  port, 
and  was  about  to  drop  anchor  near  the  dangerous  cruiser,  when  some  one 
gave  the  skipper  a  hint ;  and,  with  a  startled  "b'gosh,"  he  got  his  sails  up, 
and  scudded  out  to  sea.  The  "Alabama"  lay  in  port  some  days.  The 
first  set  of  the  sailors  who  received  permission  to  go  ashore  proceeded  to 
get  drunk,  and  raised  so  great  a  disturbance,  that  thereafter  they  were 
obliged  to  look  on  the  tropical  prospect  from  the  deck  of  the  vessel.  The 
next  day  a  United  States  war-vessel  was  seen  standing  into  the  harbor, 
and  Capt.  Semmes  immediately  began  to  make  preparations  to  fight  her. 
But  as  she  came  nearer  she  proved  to  be  the  "  San  Jacinto,"  a  vessel 
mounting  fourteen  heavy  guns,  and  altogether  too  powerful  for  the  "  Ala- 
bama." So  thinking  discretion  the  better  part  of  valor,  the  Confederate 
ship  remained  safe  in  the  neutral  harbor.  The  "  San  Jacinto "  quietly 
remained  outside,  thinking  that  at  last  the  fox  was  caught.  But  that  same 
night,  with  all  lights  extinguished,  and  running  under  full  steam,  the 
"  Alabama  "  slipped  right  under  the  broadside  of  her  enemy,  getting  clean 
away,  so  quietly  that  the  "  San  Jacinto  "  remained  for  four  days  guarding 
the  empty  trap,  while  the  "  Alabama  "  was  off  again  on  another  voyage  of 
destruction,  and  the  tuneful  souls  in  the  forecastle  were  roaring  out  the 

chorus,  — 

"  Oh,  our  jolly  privateer 

Has  left  old  England's  shore  ! 
Lord,  send  us  lots  of  prizes, 
But  no  Yankee  man-of-war." 

Soon  after  leaving  Martinique,  the  "Alabama"  made  a  capture  which 
embarrassed  the  captain  not  a  little  by  its  size.  It  was  Sunday  (which 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  189 

v 

Capt.  Semmes  calls  in  his  journal  "the  'Alabama's'  lucky  day"),  when  a 
bit  of  smoke  was  seen  far  off  on  the  horizon,  foretelling  the  approach  of 
a  steamer.  Now  was  the  time  for  a  big  haul ;  and  the  "Alabama's  "  canvas 
was  furled,  and  her  steam-gear  put  in  running  order.  The  two  vessels 
approached  each  other  rapidly ;  and  soon  the  stranger  came  near  enough 
for  those  on  the  "Alabama"  to  make  out  her  huge  walking-beam,  see- 
sawing up  and  down  amidships.  The  bright  colors  of  ladies'  dresses  were 
visible  ;  and  some  stacks  of  muskets,  and  groups  of  blue-uniformed  men, 
forward,  told  of  the  presence  of  troops.  The  "Alabama"  came  up  swiftly, 
her  men  at  the  guns,  and  the  United  States  flag  flying  from  the  peak, — 
a  rather  dishonorable  ruse  habitually  practised  by  Capt.  Semmes.  In  a 
moment  the  stranger  showed  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  then  the  "Ala- 
bama" ran  up  the  white  ensign  of  the  Confederacy,  and  fired  a  blank 
cartridge.  But  the  stranger  had  no  thought  of  surrendering,  and  crowded 
on  all  steam  and  fled.  The  "Alabama"  was  no  match  for  her  in  speed, 
so  a  more  peremptory  summons  was  sent  in  the  shape  of  a  shell  that  cut 
the  steamer's  foremast  in  two.  This  hint  was  sufficient.  The  huge  pad- 
dles ceased  revolving,  and  a  boat's-crew  from  the  "  Alabama "  went  aboard 
to  take  possession.  The  prize  proved  to  be  the  mail  steamer  "Ariel,"  with 
five  hundred  passengers,  besides  a  hundred  and  forty  marines  and  a  num- 
ber of  army  and  navy  officers.  Now  Capt.  Semmes  had  an  elephant  on 
his  hands,  and  what  to  do  with  that  immense  number  of  people  he  could 
not  imagine.  Clearly  the  steamer  could  not  be  burned  like  other  captures. 
For  two  days  Capt.  Semmes  kept  the  prize  near  him,  debating  what  was 
to  be  done,  and  then  released  her ;  exacting  from  all  the  military  and 
naval  officers  their  paroles  that  they  would  not  take  up  arms  against  the 
Confederacy. 

After  this  exploit  the  "  Alabama "  went  into  port  for  a  few  days,  and 
then  headed  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Here  she  steamed  about,  capturing 
and  burning  a  few  United  States  merchantmen,  until  on  the  nth  of 
January  she  found  herself  off  the  port  of  Galveston,  where  a  strong  block- 
ading fleet  was  stationed.  And  here  she  fought  her  first  battle. 

About  four  o'clock  of  a  clear  afternoon,  the  lookout  in  the  cross-trees  of 


190  BLUE-JACKETS  OF    '61. 

the  United  States  sloop-of-war  "  Hatteras,"  stationed  off  the  port  of  Galves- 
ton,  hailed  the  officer  of  the  deck,  and  reported  a  steamer  standing  up  and 
down  outside.  The  stranger  was  watched  closely  through  marine  glasses, 
and  finally  decided  to  be  a  blockade-runner  trying  to  make  tl\e  port ;  and 
tire  "Hatteras"  immediately  set  out  in  pursuit.  This  was  just  what  Capt. 
Semmes  desired.  He  knew  that  the  ships  stationed  off  Galveston  were  not 
heavily  armed,  and  he  felt  sure  that  if  he  could  entice  one  away  from  the 
rest  of  the  fleet  he  would  be  able  to  send  her  to  the  bottom.  Accordingly 
he  steamed  away  slowly,  letting  the  "  Hatteras  "  gain  on  him,  but  at  the 
same  time  drawing  her  out  of  the  reach  of  any  aid  from  her  consorts. 
When  about  twenty  miles  away  from  the  fleet,  the  "Alabama"  slowed 
down  and  finally  stopped  altogether,  waiting  for  the  "  Hatteras  "  to  come 
up.  The  latter  vessel  came  within  two  hundred  yards,  and  hailed,  "  What 
ship's  that?" — "Her  Majesty's  ship  'Petrel,'"  answered  Semmes,  pur- 
suing the  course  of  deception  that  brings  so  much  discredit  on  his  other- 
wise dashing  career.  The  captain  of  the  "  Hatteras "  answered  that  he 
would  send  a  boat  aboard ;  but,  before  the  boat  touched  the  water,  a  second 
hail  announced,  "  We  are  the  Confederate  ship  '  Alabama,' "  and  in  an 
instant  a  heavy  broadside  crashed  into  the  "Hatteras."  Every  one  of  the 
shots  took  effect ;  and  one  big  fellow  from  the  one  hundred  and  five  pounder 
rifle  peeled  off  six  feet  of  iron  plating  from  the  side  of  the  "  Hatteras,"  and 
lodged  in  the  hold.  Dazed  by  this  unexpected  fire,  but  plucky  as  ever,  the 
blue-jackets  sprang  to  their  guns  and  returned  the  fire.  The  two  ships 
were  so  close  together  that  a  good  shot  with  a  revolver  could  have  picked 
off  his  man  every  time,  and  the  sailors  hurled  taunts  at  each  other  between 
the  volleys.  Not  a  shot  missed  the  "  Hatteras : "  in  five  minutes  she  was 
riddled  with  holes,  and  on  fire,  and  a  minute  or  two  later  the  engineer  came 
up  coolly  and  reported,  "  Engine's  disabled,  sir ; "  followed  quickly  by  the 
carpenter,  who  remarked,  "  Ship's  making  water  fast ;  can't  float  more  than 
ten  minutes,  sir."  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  surrender,  and  the  flag 
-came  down  amid  frantic  yells  from  the  "Alabama"  sailors.  Semmes  got 
out  his  boats  with  wonderful  rapidity,  and  picked  up  all  the  men  on  the 
"  Hatteras  ;  "  and  the  defeated  vessel  sank  in  ten  minutes.  One  of  the 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  191 

strange  things  about  this  battle  was  the  small  number  of  men  injured. 
Nothing  but  shells  were  fired,  and  they  searched  every  part  of  the  vessels  ,- 
yet  when  the  fight  was  over  the  "  Alabama "  had  but  one  man  wounded, 
while  the  "  Hatteras  "  had  two  men  killed  and  three  wounded.  The  shells 
played  some  strange  pranks  in  their  course.  One  ripped  up  a  long  furrow 
in  the  deck  of  the  "Alabama,"  and  knocked  two  men  high  in  the  air  with- 
out disabling  them.  Another  struck  a  gun  full  in  the  mouth,  tore  off  one 
side  of  it,  and  shoved  it  back  ten  feet,  without  injuring  any  of  the  crew. 
One  man  who  was  knocked  overboard  by  the  concussion  was  back  again 
and  serving  his  gun  in  two  minutes.  A  shell  exploded  in  the  coal  of  the 
"Hatteras,"  and  sent  the  stuff  flying  all  about  the  vessel,  without  injuring 
a  man. 

With  her  prisoners  stowed  away  in  all  available  places  about  her  decks, 
the  "  Alabama  "  headed  for  Jamaica,  and  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Port 
Royal.  There  were  several  English  men-of-war  there,  and  the  officers  of 
the  victorious  ship  were  lionized  and  feasted  to  their  hearts'  content.  The 
prisoners  were  landed,  the  "Alabama's"  wounds  were  bound  up,  and  she 
was  made  ready  for  another  cruise. 

After  five  days  in  port,  she  set  out  again  on  her  wanderings  about  the 
world.  Week  after  week  she  patrolled  the  waters  in  all  parts  of  the  globe 
where  ships  were  likely  to  be  met.  Sometimes  she  would  go  a  fortnight 
without  a  capture,  and  then  the  men  in  the  forecastle  would  grow  turbulent 
and  restive  under  the  long  idleness.  Every  bit  of  brass-work  was  polished 
hour  after  hour,  and  the  officers  were  at  their  wits'  end  to  devise  means  for 
"teasing-time."  The  men  made  sword-knots  and  chafing-gear  enough 
to  last  the  whole  navy,  and  then  looked  longingly  at  the  captain's  mustache, 
as  the  only  thing  left  in  which  a  "Turk's  head"  could  be  tied.  Music 
enlivened  the  hours  for  a  time ;  but  the  fiddler  was  soon  voted  a  bore,  and 
silenced  by  some  one  pouring  a  pint  of  molasses  into  the  /"-holes  of  his 
instrument.  The  enraged  musician  completed  the  job  by  breaking  it  over 
the  head  of  the  joker.  After  several  weeks,  they  put  into  Cape  Town. 
Here  the  practical  joker  of  the  crew  made  himself  famous  by  utterly 
routing  an  inquisitive  old  lady,  who  asked,  "What  do  you  do  with  your 


192  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


prisoners  ? "  The  grizzled  old  tar  dropped  his  voice  to  a  confidential 
whisper,  and,  with  a  look  of  the  utmost  frankness,  replied,  "  We  biles  'em, 
mum.  We  tried  a  roast,  but  there  ain't  a  bounce  of  meat  on  one  o'  them 
Yankee  carkages.  Yes,  mum,  we  biles  'em."  The  startled  old  lady  gasped 
out,  "  Good  lordy,"  and  fled  from  the  ship. 

Putting  out  from  Cape  Town,  the  "Alabama"  continued  her  weary 
round  of  cruising.  Many  vessels  were  captured,  and  most  of  them  were 
burned.  One  Yankee  captain  proved  too  much  for  Semmes,  as  his  story 
will  show.  His  ship  was  chased  by  the  "  Alabama "  in  heavy  weather  all 
day,  and  occasionally  fired  upon.  When  the  steamer  was  abeam,  "she 
closed  up  with  us,"  the  captain  says,  "as  near  as  safety  would  permit,  and, 
hailing  us,  asked  where  we  were  bound,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of 
the  ship  to  the  Confederate  Government.  I  answered  through  my  trumpet, 
'Come  and  take  me."  Conversation  being  too  straining  for  the  lungs 
amid  the  howling  of  the  wind  and  rolling  of  the  huge  billows,  and  the 
proximity  of  the  vessels  too  dangerous,  we  separated  a  little,  and  had 
recourse  to  blackboards  to  carry  on  our  conversation.  Semmes  asked 
where  we  were  bound.  I  answered,  without  a  blush,  '  Melbourne,'  thinking 
that  possibly  he  might  try  to  intercept  me  if  he  knew  that  I  was  to  pass 
through  the  Straits  of  Sunda.  Then  he  had  the  cheek  to  order  me  to 
'haul  down  your  flag  and  surrender,  escape  or  no  escape,' — on  a  kind  of 
parole,  I  suppose  he  meant.  I  wrote  on  the  board :  '  First  capture,  then 
parole.'  This  answer  vexed  him,  I  am  sure,  for  he  immediately  wrote : 
'Surrender,  or  I  will  sink  you.'  I  wrote:  'That  would  be  murder,  not 
battle.'  —  'Call  it  what  you  will,  I  will  do  it,'  he  wrote.  'Attempt  it,  and 
by  the  living  God,  I  will  run  you  down,  and  we  will  sink  together,'  I  wrote 
in  reply.  I  knew  his  threat  was  vain  ;  for  in  that  heavy  sea,  rolling  his 
rails  under,  he  did  not  dare  to  free  his  guns,  which  were  already  double 
lashed.  They  would  have  carried  away  their  tackles,  and  gone  through 
the  bulwarks  overboard.  Conscious  that  he  had  made  empty  threats,  we 
said  no  more,  but  doggedly  kept  on  our  course.  Sail  was  still  further 
reduced  on  both  vessels,  as  the  wind  kept  increasing  and  was  now  blowing 
a  gale.  We  were  now  gradually  and  surely  drawing  ahead  of  the  steamer. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  1 93 

It  was  growing  dark.  Rejoicing  at  my  fortunate  escape,  I  gave  the  valiant 
Semmes  a  parting  shot  by  hoisting  the  signal  '  Good-by.'  Dipping  the 
star-spangled  banner  as  a  salute,  I  hauled  it  down,  and  the  steamer  was 
soon  lost  to  sight  in  the  darkness.  ...  I  never  saw  her  after  our  escape ; 
but,  indirectly,  she  forced  me  to  sell  my  ship  in  China  soon  after." 

But  we  cannot  follow  the  "Alabama"  in  her  career  about  the  world. 
A  full  account  of  her  captures  would  fill  volumes  ;  and  in  this  narrative 
we  must  pass  hastily  by  the  time  that  she  spent  scouring  the  ocean, 
dodging  United  States  men-of-war,  and  burning  Northern  merchantmen, 
until,  on  the  nth  of  June,  she  entered  the  harbor  of  Cherbourg,  France, 
and  had  hardly  dropped  anchor  when  the  United  States  man-of-war 
"  Kearsarge"  appeared  outside,  and  calmly  settled  down  to  wait  for  the 
Confederate  to  come  out  and  fight.  Capt.  Semmes  seemed  perfectly  ready 
for  the  conflict,  and  began  getting  his  ship  in  shape  for  the  battle.  The 
men,  too,  said  that  they  had  had  a  "  plum-pudding  voyage "  of  it  so  far, 
and  they  were  perfectly  ready  for  a  fight.  The  forecastle  poet  was  set 
to  work,  and  soon  ground  out  a  song,  of  which  the  refrain  was ,  — 

"  We're  homeward  bound,  we're  homeward  bound ! 
And  soon  shall  stand  on  English  ground ; 
But,  ere  our  native  land  we  see, 
We  first  must  fight  the  '  Kearsargee.'  " 

This  was  the  last  song  made  on  board  the  "Alabama,"  and  the  poet  was 
never  more  seen  after  the  fight  with  the  "  Kearsargee." 

The  "  Kearsarge  "  had  hardly  hove  in  sight  when  Capt.  Semmes  began 
taking  in  coal,  and  ordered  the  yards  sent  down  from  aloft,  and  the  ship 
put  in  trim  for  action.  Outside  the  breakwater,  the  "Kearsarge"  was 
doing  the  same  thing.  In  armament,  the  two  vessels  were  nearly  equal ; 
the  "Alabama"  having  eight  guns  to  the  "  Kearsarge's "  seven,  but  the 
guns  of  the  latter  vessel  were  heavier  and  of  greater  range.  In  the  matter 
of  speed,  the  "  Kearsarge "  had  a  slight  advantage.  The  great  advantage 
which  the  "  Kearsarge "  had  was  gained  by  the  forethought  of  her  com- 
mander, who  had  chains  hung  down  her  sides,  protecting  the  boilers  and 


194  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

machinery.  Semmes  might  easily  have  done  the  same  thing  had  the 
idea  occurred  to  him. 

It  was  on  Sunday,  June  19,  that  the  "Alabama  "  started  out  to  the  duel 
that  was  to  end  in  her  destruction.  Though  Sunday  was  Capt.  Semmes's 
lucky  day,  his  luck  this  time  seemed  to  have  deserted  him.  The  "Ala- 
bama "  was  accompanied  in  her  outward  voyage  by  a  large  French  iron- 
clad frigate.  The  broad  breakwater  was  black  with  people  waiting  to 
see  the  fight.  The  news  had  spread  as  far  as  Paris,  and  throngs  had  come 
down  by  special  trains  to  view  the  great  naval  duel.  A  purple  haze  hung 
over  the  placid  water,  through  which  could  be  seen  the  "Kearsarge,"  with 
her  colors  flying  defiantly,  steaming  slowly  ahead,  and  ready  for  the 
"Alabama"  to  come  up.  Small  steamers  on  every  side  followed  the 
"Alabama,"  as  near  the  scene  of  conflict  as  they  dared.  One  English 
yacht,  the  "  Deerhound,"  with  her  owner's  family  aboard,  hung  close  to  the 
combatants  during  the  fight.  No  duel  of  the  age  of  chivalry  had  a  more 
eager  throng  of  spectators. 

Now  the  "Alabama"  has  passed  the  three-mile  line,  and  is  on  the  open 
sea.  The  big  French  iron-clad  stops ;  the  pilot-boats,  with  no  liking  for 
cannon-balls,  stop  too.  The  "Deerhound"  goes  out  a  mile  or  so  farther, 
and  the  "Alabama"  advances  alone  to  meet  the  antagonist  that  is- 
waiting  quietly  for  her  coming.  The  moment  of  conflict  is  at  hand ;  and 
Capt.  Semmes,  mustering  his  men  on  the  deck,  addresses  them  briefly,  and 
sends  them  to  their  quarters  ;  and  now,  with  guns  shotted,  and  lanyards 
taut,  and  ready  for  the  pull,  the  "  Alabama "  rushes  toward  her  enemy. 
When  within  a  distance  of  a  mile,  the  first  broadside  was  let  fly,  without 
avail.  The  "  Kearsarge,"  more  cool  and  prudent,  waits  yet  awhile ;  and, 
when  the  first  shot  does  go  whizzing  from  her  big  Dahlgren  guns,  it  strikes 
the  "Alabama,"  and  makes  her  quiver  all  over.  Clearly  it  won't  do  to 
fight  at  long  range ;  and  Capt.  Semmes  determines  to  close  in  on  his  more 
powerful  antagonist,  and  even  try  to  carry  her  by  boarding,  as  in  the 
glorious  days  of  Paul  Jones.  But  the  wary  Winslow  of  the  "  Kearsarge " 
will  have  none  of  that ;  and  he  keeps  his  ship  at  a  good  distance,  all  the 
time  pouring  great  shot  into  the  sides  of  the  "Alabama."  Now  the  two 


RESCUE  OF   CAPTAIN   SEMMES. 


196  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


vessels  begin  circling  around  each  other  in  mighty  circles,  each  trying  to 
get  in  a  raking  position.  The  men  on  the  "Alabama"  began  to  find  that 
their  gunpowder  was  bad  and  caky ;  while  at  the  same  moment  one  of  the 
officers  saw  two  big  solid  shot  strike  the  "  Kearsarge  "  amidships,  and  fall 
back  into  the  water,  revealing  the  heretofore  unsuspected  armor.  This  was 
discouraging.  Then  came  a  big  shot  that  knocked  over  the  pivot-gun,  and 
killed  half  its  crew.  One  sailor  saw  a  shot  come  in  a  port,  glide  along  the 
gun,  and  strike  the  man  at  the  breach  full  in  the  breast,  killing  him  instantly. 

The  "  Kearsarge,"  too,  was  receiving  some  pretty  heavy  blows,  but  her 
iron  armor  protected  her  vulnerable  parts.  One  shell  lodged  in  her  stern- 
post,  but  failed  to  explode.  Had  it  burst,  the  "  Kearsarge's "  fighting 
would  have  been  over. 

After  an  hour  the  officers  of  the  "Alabama"  began  coming  to  Capt. 
Semmes  with  grave  faces,  and  reporting  serious  accidents.  At  last  the 
first  lieutenant  reported  the  ship  sinking,  and  the  order  was  given  to  strike 
the  flag.  She  was  sinking  rapidly,  and  the  time  had  come  for  every  man 
to  save  himself.  The  "  Kearsarge  "  was  shamefully  slow  in  getting  out  her 
boats;  and  finally  when  the  "Alabama,"  throwing  her  bow  high  in  the  air, 
went  down  with  a  rush,  she  carried  most  of  her  wounded  with  her,  and 
left  the  living  struggling  in  the  water.  Capt.  Semmes  was  picked  up  by 
a  boat  from  the  yacht  "Deerhound,"  and  was  carried  in  that  craft  to 
England  away  from  capture.  For  so  escaping,  he  has  been  harshly  criti- 
cised by  many  people ;  but  there  seems  to  be  no  valid  reason  why  he 
should  refuse  the  opportunity  so  offered  him.  Certain  it  is,  that,  had 
he  not  reached  the  "  Deerhound,"  he  would  have  been  drowned  ;  for  none 
of  the  boats  of  the  "  Kearsarge  "  were  near  him  when  he  was  struggling  in 
the  water. 

t'So  ended  the  career  of  the  "Alabama."  Her  life  had  been  a  short  one, 
and  her  career  not  the  most  glorious  imaginable ;  but  she  had  fulfilled  the 
purpose  for  which  she  was  intended.  She  had  captured  sixty-four  mer- 
chant-vessels, kept  a  large  number  of  men-of-war  busy  in  chasing  her  from 
one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other,  and  inflicted  on  American  commerce 
an  almost  irreparable  injury./ 


THE  END   OF   A  PRIVATEER. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  199 


Although  the  "  Alabama "  was  by  all  means  the  most  noted  and  the 
most  successful  of  all  the  Confederate  cruisers,  there  were  others  that 
entered  upon  the  career  of  privateering,  and  followed  it  for  a  while  with 
varying  degrees  of  success.  Some  were  captured  revenue-cutters,  which 
the  Confederates  armed  with  a  single  heavy  gun,  and  turn-ed  loose  on  the 
ocean  in  search  of  Yankee  schooners.  Others  were  merely  tugs  or  pilot- 
boats.  Generally  their  careers  were  short.  In  one  instance  a  fine  priva- 
teer, from  which  the  Confederates  expected  great  things,  attempted  to 
capture  a  United  States  man-of-war,  under  the  delusion  that  it  was  a  mer- 
chant-vessel. The  captain  of  the  man-of-war  saw  the  mistake  under  which 
the  Confederate  labored,  and  allowed  the  privateer  to  come  up  within  short 
range,  when,  with  a  sudden  broadside,  he  sent  her  to  the  bottom,  abruptly 
terminating  her  career  as  a  commerce  destroyer.  Some  quite  formidable 
iron-clad  cruisers  were  built  abroad ;  but  in  most  cases  all  the  diplomacy  of 
the  Confederate  agents  proved  unavailing  to  prevent  the  confiscation  of  the 
ships  by  the  neutral  governments  in  whose  territory  they  were  built.  Two 
iron-clad  rams  built  at  Liverpool,  ostensibly  for  private  parties,  but  really 
for  the  Confederate  Government,  were  seized  by  the  British  authorities. 
Six  splendid  vessels  were  built  in  France,  but  only  one  succeeded  in  get- 
ting away  to  join  the  Confederate  service.  This  one  was  a  ram  with 
armored  sides,  and  was  named  the  "  Stonewall."  The  war  was  nearly  over 
when  she  was  put  in  commission,  and  her  services  for  the  Confederacy 
amounted  to  nothing.  She  made  one  short  cruise,  during  which. she  fell 
in  with  two  United  States  men-of-war,  that  avoided  a  fight  with  her  on 
account  of  her  superior  strength.  At  the  end  of  her  cruise  the  war  was 
over,  and  she  was  sold  to  the  Mikado  of  Japan,  whose  flag  she  now  carries. 

The  "  Nashville  "  was  an  old  side-wheel  passenger-steamer,  of  which  the 
Confederates  had  made  a  privateer.  Her  career  was  a  short  one.  She 
made  one  trip  to  England  as  a  blockade-runner,  and  on  her  return  voyage 
she  burned  three  or  four  United  States  merchantmen.  She  then  put  into 
the  Great  Ogeechee  River,  where  she  was  blockaded  by  three  Union  men- 
of-war.  The  Confederates  protected  her  by  filling  the  river  with  torpedoes, 
and  anchoring  the  ship  at  a  point  where  the  guns  of  a  strong  fort  could 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  2OI 

beat  back  all  assailants.  Here  she  lay  for  several  weeks,  while  the  men 
on  the  blockaders  were  fuming  at  the  thought  that  they  were  to  be 
kept  idle,  like  cats  watching  a  rat-hole.  At  last  Capt.  Worden,  who  was 
there  with  his  redoubtable  monitor  "  Montauk,"  determined  to  destroy 
the  privateer,  despite  the  torpedoes  and  the  big  guns  of  the  fort.  He 
accordingly  began  a  movement  up  the  river,  picking  his  way  slowly  through 
the  obstructions.  The  fort  began  a  lively  cannonade  ;  but  Worden  soon 
found  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear  from  that  quarter,  as  the  guns  were  not 
heavy  enough  to  injure  the  iron  sides  of  the  little  monitor.  But,  as  he 
went  up  the  river,  the  "  Nashville "  took  the  alarm  and  fled  before  him  ; 
and  it  seemed  that  the  most  the  Union  fleet  could  do  would  be  to  keep 
her  from  coming  down  again,  for  with  her  light  draught  she  could  keep  well 
out  of  range  of  the  monitor's  guns.  But  one  morning  Worden  perceived  a 
strange  commotion  on  the  "  Nashville ; "  and,  looking  carefully  through  his 
glass,  he  saw  that  she  was  aground.  Now  was  his  time ;  and  at  once  he 
pushed  forward  to  a  point  twelve  hundred  yards  from  her,  and  directly 
under  the  guns  of  Fort  MacAllister.  From  this  point  he  began  a  deliberate 
fire  upon  the  doomed  privateer.  The  great  guns  of  the  fort  were  roaring 
away,  and  their  shells  came  crashing  against  the  sides  of  the  "Montauk;" 
but  to  this  Worden  paid  no  heed.  It  was  splendid  long-distance  practice 
for  his  gunners  ;  and,  when  they  got  the  range,  not  a  shot  missed  the 
stranded  Confederate  vessel.  From  his  pilot-house  Worden  could  see  the 
crew  of  the  "  Nashville "  escaping  in  boats,  leaping  into  the  water  over 
the  sides,  —  doing  anything  to  escape  from  that  terribly  destructive  fire. 
All  the  time  the  great  fifteen-inch  shells  were  dropping  into  the  vessel  with 
fearful  precision.  By  and  by  a  heavy  fog  fell  upon  the  scene ;  but  the  gun- 
ners on  the  "  Montauk  "  knew  where  their  enemy  was,  and  kept  up  their 
steady  fire,  though  they  could  see  nothing.  When  the  fog  lifted,  they  saw 
the  "  Nashville  "  a  mass  of  flames ;  and  in  a  moment  she  blew  up,  covering 
the  placid  surface  of  the  river  with  blackened  fragments.  Then  the  "  Mon- 
tauk "  returned  to  her  consorts,  well  satisfied  with  her  day's  work. 

The  last  of   the  Confederate  privateers  to  ravage  the  ocean  was   the 
<(  Shenandoah,"  originally  an  English  merchant-vessel  engaged  in  the  East 


202  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

India  trade.  She  was  large,  fast,  and  strongly  built ;  and  the  astute  agent 
of  the  Confederacy  knew,  when  he  saw  her  lying  in  a  Liverpool  dock,  that 
she  was  just  calculated  for  a  privateer.  She  was  purchased  by  private 
parties,  and  set  sail,  carrying  a  large  stock  of  coal  and  provisions,  but  no 
arms.  By  a  strange  coincidence,  a  second  vessel  left  Liverpool  the  same 
day,  carrying  several  mysterious  gentlemen,  who  afterwards  proved  to  be 
Confederate  naval  officers.  The  cargo  of  this  second  vessel  consisted 
almost  entirely  of  remarkably  heavy  cases  marked  "machinery."  The  two 
vessels,  once  out  of  English  waters,  showed  great  fondness  for  each  other, 
and  proceeded  together  to  a  deserted,  barren  island  near  Madeira.  Here 
they  anchored  side  by  side ;  and  the  mysterious  gentlemen,  now  resplendent 
in  the  gray  and  gold  uniform  of  the  Confederacy,  stepped  aboard  the 
"  Shenandoah."  Then  the  cases  were  hoisted  out  of  the  hold  of  the 
smaller  vessel;  and,  when  the  "machinery"  was  mounted  on  the  gun-deck 
of  the  "  Shenandoah,"  it  proved  to  be  a  number  of  very  fine  steel-rifled 
cannon.  Then  the  crew  was  mustered  on  the  gun-deck,  and  informed  that 
they  were  manning  the  new  Confederate  ship  "Shenandoah;"  and  with 
a  cheer  the  flag  was  hoisted  at  the  peak,  and  the  newly  created  ship-of-war 
started  off  in  search  of  merchantmen  to  make  bonfires  of.  From  Madeira 
the  cruiser  made  for  the  Southern  Ocean,  —  a  fresh  field  not  yet  ravaged 
by  any  Confederate  vessel.  This  made  the  hunting  all  the  better  for  the 
"  Shenandoah,"  and  she  burned  vessels  right  and  left  merrily.  In  the  spring 
of  1865,  she  put  into  .the  harbor  of  Melbourne,  Australia,  where  her  officers 
were  lavishly  entertained  by  the  citizens.  Thence  she  proceeded  to  the 
northward,  spending  some  time  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  skirting  the  Asiatic 
coast,  until  she  reached  Behrings  Straits.  Here  she  lay  in  wait  for  return- 
ing whalers,  who  in  that  season  were  apt  to  congregate  in  Behrings  Sea  in 
great  numbers,  ready  for  the  long  voyage  around  Cape  Horn  to  their  home 
ports  on  the  New  England  coast.  Capt.  Waddell  was  not  disappointed  in 
hiis  expectations,  for  he  reached  the  straits  just  as  the  returning  whalers 
were  coming  out  in  a  body.  One  day  he  captured  eleven  in  a  bunch.  With 
one-third  his  crew  standing  at  the  guns  ready  to  fire  upon  any  vessel  that 
should  attempt  to  get  up  sail,  Waddell  kept  the  rest  of  his  men  rowing  from 


1  SHENANDOAH "  BURNING  WHALERS. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  205 

ship  to  ship,  taking  off  the  crews.  Finally  all  the  prisoners  were  put  aboard 
three  of  the  whalers,  and  the  eight  empty  ships  were  set  afire.  It  was  a 
grand  spectacle.  On  every  side  were  the  towering  icebergs,  whose  glassy 
sides  reflected  the  lurid  glare  from  the  burning  ships.  Great  black  volumes 
of  smoke  arose  from  the  blazing  oil  into  the  clear  blue  northern  sky.  The 
ruined  men 'crowded  upon  the  three  whalers  saw  the  fruits  of  their  years 
of  labor  thus  destroyed  in  an  afternoon,  and  heaped  curses  upon  the  heads  of 
the  men  who  had  thus  robbed  them.  What  wonder  if,  in  the  face  of  such 
apparently  wanton  destruction  as  this,  they  overlooked  the  niceties  of 
the  law  of  war,  and  called  their  captors  pirates  !  Yet  for  the  men  of  the 
"  Shenandoah "  it  was  no  pleasant  duty  to  thus  cruise  about  the  world, 
burning  and  destroying  private  property,  and  doing  warfare  only  against 
unarmed  people.  More  than  one  has  left  on  record  his  complaint  of  the  utter 
unpleasantness  of  the  duty  ;  but  all  felt  that  they  were  aiding  the  cause  for 
which  their  brothers  at  home  were  fighting,  and  so  they  went  on  in  their 
work  of  destruction. 

For  two  months  more  Waddell  continued  his  depredations  in  the  north- 
ern seas.  Many  a  stout  bark  from  New  London  or  New  Bedford  fell  a  prey 
to  his  zeal  for  a  cause  that  was  even  then  lost.  For  the  Confederacy  had 
fallen.  The  last  volley  of  the  war  had  been  discharged  three  months  before. 
Of  this  Capt.  Waddell  was  ignorant,  and  his  warlike  operations  did  not  end 
until  the  captain  of  a  British  bark  told  him  of  the  surrender  of  Lee  and 
Johnston,  and  the  end  of  the  war.  To  continue  his  depredations  longer 
would  be  piracy  :  so  Capt.  Waddell  hauled  down  his  Confederate  flag,  and 
heading  for  Liverpool  surrendered  his  ship  to  the  British  authorities,  by 
whom  it  was  promptly  transferred  to  the  United  States.  So  ended  the  last 
of  the  Confederate  privateers. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


WORK  OF  THE  GULF  SQUADRON.- THE  FIGHT  AT  THE  PASSES  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  - 
DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  SCHOONER  "JUDAH."-THE  BLOCKADE  OF  GALVESTON,  AND 
CAPTURE  OF  THE  "HARRIET  LANE." 


HE  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  during  the  war  may  be 
roughly  classified  as  the  Atlantic  fleets,  the  river  navy,  and  the 
Gulf  squadron.  The  vessels  comprising  the  latter  detachment 
enjoyed  some  light  service  during  the  opening  months  of  the 
war ;  but,  as  the  time  went  on,  the  blue-jackets  of  the  Gulf  squadron  found 
that  they  had  no  reason  to  congratulate  themselves  on  securing  an  easy 
berth.  Their  blockading  duty  was  not  so  arduous  as  that  of  their  brothers 
along  the  rugged  Atlantic  coast ;  but  they  were  harassed  continually  by 
Confederate  rams,  which  would  make  a  dash  into  the  fleet,  strike  heavy 
blows,  and  then  fly  up  some  convenient  river  far  into  the  territory  of  the 
Confederacy.  One  such  attack  was  made  upon  the  squadron  blockading 
the  Mississippi  in  October,  1861. 

Some  eighty  miles  below  New  Orleans,  the  Mississippi  divides  into  three 
great  channels,  which  flow  at  wide  angles  from  each  other  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  These  streams  flow  between  low  marshy  banks  hardly  higher  than 
the  muddy  surface  of  the  river,  covered  with  thick  growths  of  willows,  and 
infested  with  reptiles  and  poisonous  insects.  The  point  from  which  these 
three  streams  diverge  is  known  as  the  "Head  of  the  Passes,"  and  it  was 
206 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  207 


here  that  the  blockading  squadron  of  four  vessels  was  stationed.  The  ships 
swung  idly  at  their  moorings  for  weeks.  The  pestilential  vapors  from  the 
surrounding  marshes  were  rapidly  putting  all  the  crews  in  the  sick  bay, 
while  the  clouds  of  gnats  and  mosquitoes  that  hung  about  made  Jack's  life 
a  wretched  one.  They  did  not  even  have  the  pleasurable  excitement  of 
occasionally  chasing  a  blockade-runner,  for  the  wary  merchants  of  New 
Orleans  knew  that  there  was  absolutely  no  hope  of  running  a  vessel  out 
through  a  river  so  effectually  blockaded.  And  so  the  sailors  idled  away 
their  time,  smoking,  singing,  dancing  to  the  music  of  a  doleful  fiddle,  boxing 
with  home-made  canvas  gloves  that  left  big  spots  of  black  and  blue  where 
they  struck,  and  generally  wishing  that  "Johnny  Reb  "  would  show  himself 
so  that  they  might  have  some  excitement,  even  if  it  did  cost  a  few  lives. 

But  while  the  blue-jackets  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  were  spending  their 
time  thus  idly,  the  people  in  the  beleaguered  city  higher  up  were  vastly 
enraged  at  being  thus  cooped  up,  and  were,  laying  plans  to  drive  their 
jailers  away.  Occasionally  they  would  take  a  small  fleet  of  flat  boats,  bind 
them  together,  and  heap  them  high  with  tar,  pitch,  and  light  wood.  Then 
the  whole  would  be  towed  down  the  river,  set  on  fire,  and  drifted  down 
upon  the  fleet.  The  light  of  the  great  fire  could  be  seen  far  off,  and  the 
war-ships  would  get  up  steam  and  dodge  the  roaring  mass  of  flames  as  it 
came  surging  down  on  the  swift  current.  So  many  trials  of  this  sort  failed, 
that  finally  the  people  of  the  Crescent  City  gave  up  this  plan  in  disgust. 

Their  next  plan  seemed  for  a  time  successful.  It  was  at  four  o'clock  one 
October  morning  that  the  watch  on  the  sloop-of-war  "  Richmond  "  suddenly 
saw  a  huge  dark  mass  so  close  to  the  ship  that  it  seemed  fairly  to  have 
sprung  from  the  water,  and  sweeping  down  rapidly.  The  alarm  was  quickly 
given,  and  the  crew  beat  to  quarters.  Over  the  water  from  the  other  ships, 
now  fully  alarmed,  came  the  roll  of  the  drums  beating  the  men  to  their 
guns.  The  dark  object  came  on  swiftly,  and  the  word  was  passed  from  man 
to  man,  "  It's  a  Confederate  ram."  And  indeed  it  was  the  ram  "  Manassas," 
which  the  Confederates  had  been  hard  at  work  building  in  the  New  Orleans 
ship-yards,  and  on  which  they  relied  to  drive  the  blockading  squadron  from 
the  river.  As  she  came  rushing  towards  the  "Richmond,"  two  great  lights 


208  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


higher  up  the  river  told  of  fire-rafts  bearing  down  upon  the  fleet,  and  by  the 
fitful  glare  three  smaller  gun-boats  were  seen  coming  to  the  assistance  of 
the  "Manassas."  Clearly  the  Confederates  were  attacking  in  force. 

The  first  volley  from  the  fleet  rattled  harmlessly  from  the  iron-clad  sides 
of  the  "Manassas;"  and,  not  heeding  it,  she  swept  on  and  plunged  into  the 
side  of  the  "  Richmond."  The  great  iron  prow  cut  deep  into  the  wooden 
sides  of  the  Union  vessel.  Heavy  oaken  timbers  were  splintered  like  laths, 
and  the  men  were  violently  hurled  to  the  deck.  As  the  ram  drew  away,  the 
blue-jackets  sprang  to  their  guns  and  gave  her  a  volley.  Some  of  the  shots 
must  have  penetrated  her  armor,  for  she  became  unmanageable.  But  the 
darkness  prevented  the  officers  of  the  "  Richmond  "  from  seeing  how  much 
damage  they  had  done,  and  they  did  not  follow  up  their  advantage.  The 
strange  panic  that  the  sight  of  a  ram  so  often  brought  upon  sailors  of  the 
old  school  fell  on  the  officers  of  this  squadron,  and  they  began  hastily  get- 
ting their  ships  out  of  the  river.  By  this  time  four  more  Confederate 
steamers  had  come  to  the  aid  of  the  ram,  and  were  cannonading  the 
Northern  fleet  at  long  range.  In  their  hurried  attempt  to  escape,  the 
"Richmond"  and  the  "Vincennes"  had  run  aground.  The  captain  of 
the  latter  vessel,  fearing  capture,  determined  to  fire  his  vessel  and  escape 
with  his  crew  to  the  "  Richmond."  Accordingly  he  laid  a  slow-match  to 
the  magazine,  lighted  it,  and  then,  wrapping  his  ship's  colors  about  his 
waist  in  the  most  theatrical  manner,  abandoned  his  ship.  But  the  plan 
was  not  altogether  a  success.  As  he  left  the  ship,  he  was  followed  by  a 
grizzled  old  sailor,  who  had  seen  too  much  fighting  to  believe  in  blowing 
up  his  own  ship ;  and,  when  he  saw  the  smoking  slow-match,  he  hastily 
broke  off  the  lighted  end,  and  without  saying  a  word  threw  it  into  the 
water.  No  one  observed  the  action,  and  the  crew  of  the  "Vincennes" 
watched  mournfully  for  their  good  ship  to  go  up  in  a  cloud  of  smoke  and 
flame.  After  they  had  watched  nearly  an  hour,  they  concluded  something 
was  wrong,  and  returned  to  their  old  quarters.  By  this  time  the  enemy 
had  given  up  the  conflict,  and  the  United  States  navy  was  one  ship  ahead 
for  the  old  sailor's  act  of  insubordination.  The  Confederate  flotilla  returned 
to  New  Orleans,  and  reported  that  they  had  driven  the  blockaders  away. 


BLUE-TACKETS   OF   '61. 


209 


There  was  great  rejoicing  in  the  city :  windows  were  illuminated,  and 
receptions  were  tendered  to  the  officers  of  the  Confederate  fleet.  But,  while 
the  rejoicing  was  still  going  on,  the  Union  ships  came  quietly  back  to  their 
old  position,  and  the  great  river  was  as  securely  closed  as  ever. 

About  a  month  before  the  fight  with  the  "  Manassas,"  the  blue-jackets 


FORT  PENSACOLA. 

of  the  North  scored  for  themselves  a  brilliant  success  in  the  harbor  of 
Pensacola.  The  frigate  "Colorado"  was  lying  outside  the  harbor  of  that 
city,  within  clear  view  of  the  city  front.  For  some  weeks  the  sailors  had 
been  greatly  interested  in  watching  the  activity  of  people  on  shore  around 
a  small  schooner  that  was  lying  in  a  basin  near  the  navy-yard.  With  a 
harbor  so  thoroughly  blockaded  as  was  that  of  Pensacola,  there  seemed 


210  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


really  no  need  of  new  vessels  ;  and  the  haste  of  the  Confederates  seemed 
inexplicable,  until  they  saw  through  their  glasses  men  at  work  mounting 
a  heavy  pivot-gun  amidships.  That  made  it  clear  that  another  privateer 
was  being  fitted  out  to  ravage  the  seas  and  burn  all  vessels  flying  the 
United  States  flag.  The  gallant  tars  of  the  "  Colorado  "  determined  to  go 
in  and  burn  the  privateer  before  she  should  have  a  chance  to  escape.  It 
was  an  undertaking  of  great  peril.  The  schooner  was  near  the  navy-yard, 
where  one  thousand  men  were  ready  to  spring  to  her  assistance  at  the  first 
alarm.  On  the  dock  fronting  the  navy-yard  were  mounted  a  ten-inch  colum- 
biad  and  a  twelve-pounder  field-piece,  so  placed  as  to  command  the  deck 
of  the  schooner  and  the  wharf  to  which  she  was  moored.  Fort  Pensacola, 
not  far  distant,  was  full  of  Confederate  troops.  But  the  Union  sailors 
thought  that  the  destruction  of  the  privateer  was  of  enough  importance 
to  warrant  the  risk,  and  they  determined  to  try  the  adventure. 

Accordingly,  on  the  first  dark  night,  four  boats,  containing  one  hundred 
officers,  sailors,  and  marines,  put  off  from  the  side  of  the  "  Colorado,"  and 
headed  for  the  town.  All  was  done  with  the  most  perfect  silence.  The 
tholes  of  the  oars  were  wrapped  in  cloth  to  deaden  their  rattle  in  the  row- 
locks. No  lights  were  carried.  Not  a  word  was  spoken  after  the  officers 
in  muffled  tones  had  given  the  order,  "  Give  way."  Through  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night  the  heavy  boats  glide  on.  Every  man  aboard  has  his 
work  laid  out  for  him,  and  each  knows  what  he  is  to  do.  While  the 
main  body  are  to  be  engaged  in  beating  back  the  guards,  some  are  to  spike 
the  guns,  and  others  to  fire  the  schooner  in  several  places.  When  within 
a  hundred  yards  of  the  schooner,  they  are  discovered  by  the  sentry.  As 
his  ringing  hail  comes  over  the  water,  the  sailors  make  no  reply,  but  bend 
to  the  oars,  and  the  boats  fairly  leap  toward  the  wharf.  Bang !  goes  the 
sentry's  rifle ;  and  the  men  in  the  hold  of  the  schooner  come  rushing  up 
just  as  the  two  boats  dash  against  her  side,  and  the  sailors  spring  like 
cats  over  the  bulwarks.  One  man  was  found  guarding  the  guns  on  the 
wharf,  and  was  shot  down.  Little  time  is  needed  to  spike  the  guns,  and 
then  those  on  the  wharf  turn  in  to  help  their  comrades  on  the  schooner. 
Here  the  fighting  is  sharp  and  hand  to  hand.  Nearly  a  hundred  men  are 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  SCHOONER  "JUDAH.' 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  213 


v 

crowded  on  the  deck,  and  deal  pistol-shots  and  cutlass-blows  right  and  left. 
Several  of  the  crew  of  the  schooner  have  climbed  into  the  tops,  and  from 
that  point  of  vantage  pour  down  on  the  attacking  party  a  murderous  fire. 
Horrid  yells  go  up  from  the  enraged  combatants,  and  the  roar  of  the 
musketry  is  deafening.  The  crew  of  the  schooner  are  forced  backward, 
step  by  step,  until  at  last  they  are  driven  off  the  vessel  altogether,  and 
stand  on  the  wharf  delivering  a  rapid  fire.  The  men  from  the  navy-yard 
are  beginning  to  pour  down  to  the  wharf  to  take  a  hand  in  the  fight.  But 
now  a  column  of  smoke  begins  to  arise  from  the  open  companionway ;  and 
the  blue-jackets  see  that  their  work  is  done,  and  tumble  over  the  side 
into  their  boats.  It  is  high  time  for  them  to  leave,  for  the  Confederates 
are  on  the  wharf  in  overwhelming  force.  As  they  stand  there,  crowded 
together,  the  retiring  sailors  open  on  them  with  canister  from  two 
howitzers  in  the  boats.  Six  rounds  of  this  sort  of  firing  sends  the 
Confederates  looking  for  shelter;  and  the  sailors  pull  off  through  the 
darkness  to  their  ship,  there  to  watch  the  burning  vessel,  until,  with 
a  sudden  burst  of  flame,  she  is  blown  to  pieces. 

Considering  the  dashing  nature  of  this  exploit,  the  loss  of  life  was 
wonderfully  small.  Lieut.  Blake,  who  commanded  one  of  the  boats,  was 
saved  by  one  of  those  strange  accidents  so  common  in  war.  As  he 
was  going  over  the  side  of  the  "  Colorado,"  some  one  handed  him  a  metal 
flask  filled  with  brandy,  to  be  used  for  the  wounded.  He  dropped  it  into 
the  lower  pocket  of  his  overcoat,  but,  finding  it  uncomfortable  there, 
changed  it  to  the  side  pocket  of  his  coat,  immediately  over  his  heart. 
When  the  boats  touched  the  side  of  the  schooner,  Blake  was  one  of  the 
first  to  spring  into  the  chains  and  clamber  aboard.  Just  as  he  was  spring- 
ing over  the  gunwale,  a  Confederate  sailor  pointed  a  pistol  at  his  heart,  and 
fired  it  just  as  Blake  cut  him  down  with  a  savage  cutlass-stroke.  The 
bullet  sped  true  to  its  mark,  but  struck  the  flask,  and  had  just  enough 
force  to  perforate  it,  without  doing  any  injury  to  the  lieutenant. 

The  first  death  in  the  fight  was  a  sad  one.  A  marine,  the  first  man  to 
board  the  schooner,  lost  his  distinguishing  white  cap  in  his  leap.  His 
comrades  followed  fast  behind  him,  and,  seeing  that  he  wore  no  cap,  took 


214  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


him  for  one  of  the  enemy,  and  plunged  their  bayonets  deep  in  his  breast, 
killing  him  instantly.  He  was  known  to  his  comrades  as  John  Smith, 
but  on  searching  his  bag  letters  were  found  proving  that  this  was  not  his 
own  name.  One  from  his  mother  begged  him  to  return  home,  and  give  up 
his  roving  life.  He  proved  to  be  a  well-educated  young  man,  who  through 
fear  of  some  disgrace  had  enlisted  in  the  marines  to  hide  himself  from  the 
world. 

Another  dashing  event  occurred  on  the  Gulf  Coast  some  months  later, 
although  in  this  instance  the  Confederates  were  the  assailants  and  the 
victors.  Galveston  had  for  some  time  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Union 
forces,  and  was  occupied  by  three  regiments  of  United  States  troops.  In 
the  harbor  lay  three  men-of-war,  whose  cannon-kept  the  town  in  subjection. 
It  had  been  rumored  for  some  time  that  the  Confederates  were  planning  to 
re-capture  the  city,  and  accordingly  the  most  vigilant  lookout  was  kept 
from  all  the  ships.  On  the  ist  of  January,  1863,  at  half-past  one  A.M.,  as 
the  lookout  on  the  "Harriet  Lane"  was  thinking  of  the  new  year  just 
ushered  in,  and  wondering  whether  before  the  end  of  that  year  he  could  see 
again  his  cosey  Northern  home  and  wife  and  friends,  he  saw  far  up  the  river 
a  cloud  of  black  smoke,  that  rose  high  in  the  air,  and  blotted  from  sight 
the  shining  winter  stars.  He  rubbed  his  eyes,  and  looked  again.  There 
was  no  mistake  :  the  smoke  was  there,  and  rapidly  moving  toward  him. 
Clearly  it  was  a  steamer  coming  down  the  river  ;  but  whether  an  armed 
enemy  or  a  blockade-runner,  he  could  not  say.  He  gave  the  alarm  ;  and  in 
a  moment  the  roll  of  the  drums  made  the  sailors  below  spring  from  their 
hammocks,  and,  hastily  throwing  on  their  clothes,  rush  on  deck.  The 
drums  beat  to  quarters,  and  the  crew  were  soon  at  their  guns.  Over  the 
water  came  the  roll  of  the  drums  from  the  other  ships,  and  from  the  troops 
on  shore,  now  all  aroused  and  in  arms  For  thirty  hours  the  Federals  had 
been  expecting  this  attack,  and  now  they  were  fully  prepared  for  it. 

The  attacking  vessels  came  nearer,  and  the  men  on  the  Union  ships 
strained  their  eyes  to  see  by  the  faint  starlight  what  manner  of  craft  they 
had  to  meet.  They  proved  to  be  two  large  river-steamships,  piled  high 
with  cotton-bales,  crowded  with  armed  men,  and  provided  with  a  few  field- 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  "HARRIET  T.ANE.' 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  217 

pieces.  Clearly  they  were  only  dangerous  at  close  quarters,  and  the 
"Lane"  at  once  began  a  rapid  fire  to  beat  them  back.  But  the  bad  light 
spoiled  her  gunners'  aim,  and  she  determined  to  rush  upon  the  enemy,  and 
run  him  down.  The  Confederate  captain  managed  his  helm  skilfully,  and 
the  "Lane"  struck  only  a  glancing  blow.  Then,  in  her  turn,  the  "Lane" 
was  rammed  by  the  Confederate  steamer,  which  plunged  into  her  with  a 
crash  and  a  shock  which  seemed  almost  to  lift  the  ships  out  of  water.  The 
two  vessels  drifted  apart,  the  "Lane"  hardly  injured,  but  the  Confederate 
with  a  gaping  wound  in  his  bow  which  sent  him 'to  the  bottom  in  fifteen 
minutes.  But  now  the  other  Confederate  came  bearing  down  under  a  full 
head  of  steam,  and  crashed  into  the  "  Lane."  Evidently  the  Confederates 
wanted  to  fight  in  the  old  style ;  for  they  threw  out  grappling-irons,  lashed 
the  two  ships  side  to  side,  and  began  pouring  on  to  the  deck  of  the 
Federal  ship  for  a  hand-to-hand  conflict.  Cries  of  anger  and  pain,  pistol- 
shots,  cutlass  blows,  and  occasional  roars  from  the  howitzers  rose  on  the 
night  air,  and  were  answered  by  the  sounds  of  battle  from  the  shore,  where 
the  Confederates  had  attacked  the  slender  Union  garrison.  The  sinking 
steamer  took  up  a  position  near  the  "  Lane,"  and  poured  broadside  after 
broadside  upon  the  struggling  Union  ship.  But  where  were  the  other  three 
Union  vessels  all  this  time  ?  It  seemed  as  though  their  commanders  had 
lost  all  their  coolness  ;  for  they  ran  their  vessels  here  and  there,  now  trying 
to  do  something  to  help  their  friends  on  shore,  now  making  an  ineffectual 
attempt  to  aid  the  "  Harriet  Lane."  But  on  board  that  vessel  matters 
were  going  badly  for  the  Federals.  The  Confederates  in  great  numbers 
kept  pouring  over  the  bulwarks,  and  were  rapidly  driving  the  crew  from  the 
deck.  Capt.  Wainvvright  lay  dead  at  the  door  of  the  cabin.  Across  his 
body  stood  his  young  son,  his  eyes  blazing,  his  hair  waving  in  the  wind. 
He  held  in  his  right  hand  a  huge  revolver,  which  he  was  firing  without 
aim  into  the  tossing  mass  of  struggling  men  before  him,  while  he  called  on 
his  dead  father  to  rise  and  help  him.  A  stray  bullet  cut  off  two  of  his 
fingers,  and  the  pain  was  too  much  for  the  little  hero  only  ten  years  old ; 
and,  dropping  the  pistol,  he  burst  into  tears,  crying,  "  Do  you  want  to  kill 
me  ?  "  The  blue-jackets  began  to  look  anxiously  for  help  toward  the  other 


2l8  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

vessels.  But,  even  while  they  looked,  they  saw  all  hope  of  help  cut  off ;  for 
with  a  crash  and  a  burst  of  flame  the  "Westfield"  blew  up.  It  turned 
out  later,  that,  finding  his  ship  aground,  the  captain  of  the  "  Westfield  " 
had  determined  to  abandon  her,  and  fire  the  magazine ;  but  in  fixing  his 
train  he  made  a  fatal  error,  and  the  ship  blew  up,  hurling  captain  and  crew 
into  the  air.  The  men  on  the  "  Harriet  Lane  "  saw  that  all  hope  was  gone, 
and  surrendered  their  ship.  When  the  captains  of  the  two  remaining 
gunboats  saw  the  stars  and  stripes  fall  from  the  peak,  they  turned  their 
vessels'  prows  toward  the  sea,  and  scudded  out  of  danger  of  capture.  At 
the  same  moment,  cheers  from  the  gray-coats  on  shore  told  that  the  Con- 
federates had  been  successful  both  by  land  and  sea,  and  the  stars  and  bars 
once  more  floated  over  Galveston. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  — FARRAGUT'S   FLEET  PASSES   FORT  ST. 
PHILIP  AND  FORT    JACKSON. 

HILE  Commodore  Foote,  with  his  flotilla  of  gunboats  and  mor- 
tar-boats, was  working  his  way  down  the  Mississippi  River, 
making  occasional  dashes  into  the  broad  streams  that  flow  from 
either  side  into  the  father  of  waters,  Admiral  Farragut,  with  his 
fleet  of  tall-sparred,  ocean-going  men-of-war,  was  laying  his  plans  for  an 
expedition  up-stream.  But  Farragut's  first  obstacle  lay  very  near  the  mouth 
of  the  broad,  tawny  river  that  flows  for  a  thousand  miles  through  the  centre 
of  the  United  States.  New  Orleans,  the  greatest  city  of  the  Confederacy,, 
stands  on  the  river's  bank,  only  ninety  miles  from  the  blue  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Confederate  authorities  knew  the  value  of  this  great 
city  to  their  cause,  and  were  careful  not  to  let  it  go  unprotected.  Long 
before  any  thought  of  civil  war  disturbed  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  the  Federal  Government  had  built  below  the  Crescent  City 
two  forts,  that  peered  at  each  other  across  the  swift,  turbid  tide  of  the 
Mississippi  River.  Fort  St.  Philip  and  Fort  Jackson  they  were  called, 
the  latter  being  named  in  honor  of  the  stubborn  old  military  hero  who 
beat  back  the  British  soldiers  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812  on  the 
glorious  field  of  Chalmette  near  New  Orleans.  Fort  Jackson  was  a  huge 

219 


220  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


star  of  stone  and  mortar.  In  its  massive  walls  were  great  cavernous  bomb- 
proofs  in  which  the  soldiers  were  secure  from  bursting  shells.  It  stood 
back  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  levee,  and  its  casemates  just  rose 
above  the  huge  dike  that  keeps  the  Mississippi  in  its  proper  channel. 
When  the  river  was  nigh  from  the  spring  floods  of  the  north,  a  steamer 
floating  on  its  swift  tide  towered  high  above  the  bastions  of  the  fort.  In 
the  casemates  and  on  the  parapets  were  mounted  seventy-five  guns  of  all 
calibres.  By  its  peculiar  shape  and  situation  on  a  jutting  point  of  land,  the 
fort  was  able  to  bring  its  guns  to  bear  upon  the  river  in  three  directions. 

When  the  storm  of  civil  war  burst  upon  the  country,  the  Confederates 
of  New  Orleans  were  prompt  to  seize  this  and  Fort  St.  Philip,  that  stood 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  They  found  Fort  Jackson  in  the  state  of 
general  decay  into  which  most  army  posts  fall  in  times  of  peace,  and  they 
set  at  work  at  once  to  strengthen  it.  All  over  the  parapet,  bomb-proofs, 
and  weak  points,  bags  of  sand  were  piled  five  or  six  feet  deep,  making  the 
strongest  defence  known  in  war.  Steamers  plied  up  and  down  the  river, 
bringing  provision,  ammunition,  and  new  cannon,  and  soon  the  fort  was 
ready  to  stand  the  most  determined  siege.  Fort  St.  Philip,  across  the 
river,  though  not  so  imposing  a  military  work,  was  more  powerful.  It  was 
built  of  masonry,  and  heavily  sodded  over  all  points  exposed  to  fire.  It 
was  more  irregular  in  shape  than  Fort  Jackson,  and  with  its  guns  seemed 
to  command  every  point  on  the  river.  Both  were  amply  protected  from 
storming  by  wide,  deep  moats  always  filled  with  water. 

„  In  these  two  forts  were  stationed  troops  made  up  of  the  finest  young 
men  of  New  Orleans.  For  them  it  was  a  gay  station.  Far  removed  from 
the  fighting  on  the  frontier,  and  within  an  easy  journey  of  their  homes, 
they  frolicked  away  the  first  year  of  the  war.  Every  week  gay  parties  of 
pleasure-seekers  from  New  Orleans  would  come  down  ;  and  the  proud  de- 
fenders would  take  their  friends  to  the  frowning  bastions,  and  point  out  how 
easily  they  could  blow  the  enemy's  fleet  out  of  water  if  the  ships  ever  came 
within  range  of  those  heavy  guns.  But  the  ships  did  not  come  within  range 
of  the  guns  for  many, months.  They  contented  themselves  with  lying  at 
the  Head  of  the  Passes,  and  stopping  all  intercourse  with  the  outer  world, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


221 


until  New  Orleans  began  to  get  shabby  and  ragged  and  hungry,  and  the 
pleasure-parties  came  less  often  to  the  forts,  and  the  gay  young  soldiers 


222  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


saw  their  uniforms  getting  old  and  tattered,  but  knew  not  where  to  get  the 
cloth  to  replace  them. 

In  the  city  no  rumble  of  commerce  was  heard  on  the  streets.  Grass 
grew  on  the  deserted  levee,  where  in  times  of  peace  the  brown  and  white 
cotton-bales  were  piled  by  the  thousand,  waiting  for  strong  black  hands  to 
seize  and  swing  them  upon  the  decks  of  the  trim  Liverpool  packets,  that 
lay  three  or  four  deep  along  the  river  front.  The  huge  gray  custom-house 
that  stood  at  the  foot  of  Canal  Street  no  longer  resounded  with  the  rapid 
tread  of  sea-captains  or  busy  merchants.  From  the  pipes  of  the  cotton- 
presses,  the  rush  of  the  escaping  steam,  as  the  ruthless  press  squeezed 
the  great  bale  into  one-third  its  original  size,  was  no  longer  heard.  Most 
of  the  great  towering  steamboats  that  came  rushing  down  the  river  with 
stores  of  cotton  or  sugar  had  long  since  been  cut  down  into  squat,  power- 
ful gunboats,  or  were  tied  up  idly  to  the  bank.  Across  the  river,  in  the 
ship-yards  of  Algiers,  there  seemed  a  little  more  life ;  for  there  workmen 
were  busy  changing  peaceful  merchant  vessels  into  gunboats  and  rams, 
that  were,  the  people  fondly  hoped,  to  drive  away  the  men-of-war  at  the 
river's  mouth  and  save  the  city  from  starvation.  From  time  to  time  the 
streets  of  the  city  resounded  with  the  notes  of  drum  and  fife,  as  one  after 
the  other  the  militia  companies  went  off  to  the  front  and  the  fighting. 
Then  the  time  came  when  none  were  left  save  the  "  Confederate  Guards," 
old  gray-haired  men,  judges,  bankers,  merchants,  gentlemen  of  every 
degree,  too  old  for  active  service  at  the  front,  but  too  young  not  to 
burn  for  the  grasp  of  a  gun  or  sword  while  they  knew  that  their  sons 
and  grandsons  were  fighting  on  the  blood-stained  soil  of  Virginia  and 
Tennessee. 

But,  while  the  city  was  gradually  falling  into  desolation  and  decay, 
preparations  were  being  made  by  the  Federal  navy  for  its  capture.  On 
the  2d  of  February,  1862,  Admiral  Farragut  sailed  from  Hampton  Roads 
in  his  stanch  frigate  the  "  Hartford,"  to  take  command  of  a  naval 
expedition  intended  to  capture  New  Orleans.  The  place  of  rendezvous 
was  Ship  Island,  a  sandy  island  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Here  he  organized 
his  squadron,  and  started  for  his  post  in  the  Mississippi,  below  the  forts. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  22, 


The  first  obstacle  was  found  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  the  heavy 
war-vessels  were  unable  to  make  their  way  over  the  bar.  Nearly  two  weeks 
were  occupied  in  the  work  of  lightening  these  ships  until  they  were  able 
to  pass.  The  frigate  "Colorado"  was  unable  to  get  over  at  all.  The  "  Pen- 
sacola"  was  dragged  through  the  mud  by  the  sheer  strength  of  other 
vessels  of  the  expedition.  While  they  were  tugging  at  her,  a  huge  hawser 
snapped  with  a  report  like  a  cannon,  and  the  flying  ends  killed  two  men 
and  seriously  wounded  five  others.  But  at  last  the  fleet  was  safely  past 
all  obstacles,  and  Admiral  Farragut  found  himself  well  established  in  the 
lower  Mississippi,  with  a  force  of  twenty-five  men-of-war,  and  twenty  mortar- 
schooners  ;  one  of  the  most  powerful  armadas  ever  despatched  against 
an  enemy.  Farragut  lost  no  time  in  getting  his  ships  prepared  for  the 
baptism  of  fire  which  was  sure  to  come.  While  he  was  diligently  at  work 
on  his  preparations,  he  was  visited  by  some  French  and  English  naval 
officers,  who  had  carefully  examined  the  defences  of  the  Confederates,  and 
came  to  warn  him  that  to  attack  the  forts  with  wooden  vessels,  such  as 
made  up  his  fleet,  was  sheer  madness,  and  would  only  result  in  defeat. 
"You  may  be  right,"  answered  the  brave  old  sailor,  "but  I  was  sent  here 
to  make  the  attempt.  I  came  here  to  reduce  or  pass  the  forts,  and  to 
take  New  Orleans,  and  I  shall  try  it  on."  The  foreigners  remarked  that 
he  was  going  to  certain  destruction,  and  politely  withdrew. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  tars  on  the  mortar-fleet  were  working  industriously 
to  get  their  ships  in  fighting-trim.  The  topmasts  were  stripped  of  their 
sails,  and  lowered  ;  the  loose  and  standing  rigging  strapped  to  the  masts  ; 
the  spars,  forebooms,  and  gaffs  unshipped,  and  secured  to  the  outside  of 
the  vessels  to  avert  the  danger  from  splinters,  which,  in  naval  actions,  is 
often  greater  than  from  the  shots  themselves.  From  the  main-deck  every 
thing  was  removed  that  could  obstruct  the  easy  handling  of  the  tremendous 
mortars ;  and  the  men  were  drilled  to  skill  and  alertness  in  firing  the  huge 
engines  of  death.  The  work  was  hastened  on  the  mortar-schooners, 
because  the  plan  was  to  rush  them  into  position,  and  let  them  harass 
the  Confederates  with  a  steady  bombardment,  while  the  ships-of-war  were 
preparing  for  their  part  in  the  coming  fight. 


224  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 

The  mortar-fleet  was  under  command  of  Admiral  Porter,  an  able  and 
energetic  officer.  He  soon  had  his  ships  ready,  and  began  moving  them 
into  position  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  out  of  sight  of  the  forts.  To 
further  conceal  them  from  the  gunners  in  the  forts,  he  had  the  masts 
and  rigging  wrapped  with  green  foliage ;  so  that,  lying  against  the  dense 
thickets  of  willows  that  skirt  that  part  of  the  river,  they  were  invisible. 
Other  boats  that  were  in  more  exposed  positions  had  their  hulls  covered 
with  grass  and  reeds,  so  that  they  seemed  a  part  of  the  swamp  that 
bordered  the  river.  After  the  line  of  fire  had  been  obtained  by  a  careful 
mathematical  survey,  Porter  got  all  his  mortar-boats  into  position,  and 
began  his  bombardment.  The  gunners  on  the  mortar-boats  could  not 
see  the  forts ;  but  the  range  had  been  calculated  for  them,  and  they  merely 
fired  mechanically.  A  lookout,  perched  on  the  masthead,  could  see  over 
the  low  willow-forest,  and  watch  the  course  of  the  shells  as  they  rushed 
high  into  the  air,  and  then,  falling  with  a  graceful  curve,  plunged  into 
the  forts.  The  firing  was  begun  on  the  i6th  of  April,  and  was  kept  up 
with  a  will.  The  twenty  huge  mortars  keeping  up  a  constant  fire,  made 
a  deafening  roar  that  shook  the  earth,  and  could  be  heard  far  up  the 
river  at  New  Orleans,  where  the  people  poured  out  into  the  streets,  and 
gayly  predicted  defeat  for  any  enemy  who  should  attack  "  the  boys  in  the 
forts."  The  forts  were  not  slow  in  returning  the  fire ;  but  as  the  mortar- 
vessels  were  hidden,  and  did  not  offer  very  large  marks,  their  fire  was 
rather  ineffective.  Parties  of  Confederates,  old  swamp-hunters,  and  skilled 
riflemen,  stole  down  through  the  dense  thickets,  to  pick  off  the  crews 
of  the  mortar-schooners.  They  managed  to  kill  a  few  gunners  in  this 
way,  but  were  soon  driven  away  by  the  point-blank  fire  of  the  support- 
ing gunboats.  But  all  this  time  the  shells  were  falling  thick  and  fast, 
driving  the  soldiers  to  the  bomb-proofs,  and  tearing  to  pieces  every  thing 
unprotected.  One  shell  set  fire  to  some  wooden  structures  that  stood 
on  the  parade-ground  in  Fort  Jackson  ;  and,  as  the  smoke  and  flames  rose 
in  the  air,  the  gunners  down  the  river  thought  that  the  fort  was  burning, 
and  cheered  and  fired  with  renewed  vigor.  The  shells  that  burst  upon 
the  levee  soon  cut  great  trenches  in  it,  so  that  the  mighty  Mississippi  broke 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  225 


through   with   a  rush,   and  flooded  the  country  all  about.     But   the   forts 
seemed  as  strong  and  unconquered  as  ever. 

While  the  soldiers  were  crowded  together  in  the  bomb-proofs  to  escape 
the  flying  bits  of  shell,  the  sailors  on  the  little  fleet  of  Confederate  vessels 
anchored  above  them  were  busily  engaged  in  getting  ready  a  fire-raft 
which  was  to  float  down  the  river,  and  make  havoc  among  the  vessels  of 
the  Union  fleet.  Two  such  rafts  were  prepared ;  one  of  which,  an  immense 
affair,  carrying  cords  of  blazing  pine-wood,  was  sent  down  in  the  early 
morning  at  a  time  when  the  vessels  were  utterly  unprepared  to  defend 
themselves.  Luckily  it  grounded  on  a  sandbar,  and  burned  and  crackled 
away  harmlessly  until  it  was  consumed.  This  warned  Commander  Portef 
of  the  danger  in  which  his  mortar-vessels  were  of  a  second  attack  of  the 
same  nature ;  and  accordingly  he  put  in  readiness  one  hundred  and  fifty 
small  boats  with  picked  crews,  and  well  supplied  with  axes  and  grapnels, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  grapple  any  future  rafts,  and  tow  them  into  a  harmless 
position.  They  did  not  have  long  to  wait.  At  sundown  that  night,  Com- 
mander Porter  reviewed  his  little  squadron  of  row-boats  as  they  lay  drawn 
up  in  line  along  the  low  marshy  shores  of  the  mighty  river.  The  sun 
sank  a  glowing  red  ball  beneath  the  line  at  which  the  blue  waters  of  the 
gulf  and  the  blue  arch  of  heaven  seemed  to  meet.  The  long  southern  twi- 
light gradually  deepened  into  a  black,  moonless  night.  The  cries  of  frogs 
and  seabirds,  and  the  little  flashes  of  the  fireflies,  were  silenced  and  blotted 
out  by  the  incessant  roar  and  flash  of  the  tremendous  mortars  that  kept  up 
their  deadly  work.  Suddenly  in  the  distance  the  sky  grows  red  and  lurid. 
"  The  fort  is  burning !"  cry  the  men  at  the  guns;  but  from  the  masthead 
comes  the  response,  "  No,  the  fire  is  on  the  river.  It  is  another  fire-raft." 
The  alarm  was  instantly  given  to  all  the  vessels  of  the  fleet.  Bright 
colored  signal-lights  blazed  on  the  decks,  and  the  dark,  slender  cordage 
stood  out  against  the  brilliant  red  and  green  fires  that  flickered  strangely 
upon  the  dark  wooded  banks  of  the  river.  Rockets  rushed  high  into  the 
air,  and,  bursting,  let  fall  a  shower  of  party-colored  lights  that  told  the 
watchers  far  down  the  river  that  danger  was  to  be  expected.  Then 
the  signal-lights  went  out,  and  all  was  dark  and  silent  save  where  the  lurid 


226  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 


glare  of  the  great  mass  of  fire  could  be  seen  floating  in  the  great  curves  of 
the  tortuous  river  toward  the  crowded  ships.  It  was  a  time  of  intense 
suspense.  The  little  flotilla  of  fire-boats,  organized  by  Commander  Porter 
that  day,  was  on  the  alert;  and  the  blue-jackets  bent  to  their  oars  with  a 
will,  and  soon  had  their  boats  ranged  along  a  bend  far  above  the  fleet. 
Here  they  waited,  to  catch  the  fiery  monster,  and  save  the  ships.  The 
danger,  came  nearer  fast.  Rapidly  Ihe  flames  increased  in  volume,  until 
the  whole  surrounding  region  was  lighted  up  by  the  glare ;  while  from  the 
floating  fire,  a  huge  black  column  of  smoke  arose,  and  blended  with  the 
clouds  that  glowed  as  though  .they  themselves  were  on  fire.  When 
the  raft  came  into  view  around  a  point,  it  was  seen  to  be  too  big  for  the 
boats  to  handle  unaided,  and  two  gunboats  slipped  their  cables,  and  started 
for  the  thing  of  terror.  From  every  side  the  row-boats  dashed  at  the  raft. 
Some  grappled  it,  and  the  sailors  tugged  lustily  at  their  oars,  seeking  to 
drag  the  mass  of  flames  toward  the  shore.  Then  the  "  Westfield,"  under 
full  head  of  steam,  dashed  furiously  against  the  raft,  crashing  in  the  timbers 
and  sending  great  clouds  of  sparks  flying  high  in  the  air.  From  her  hose- 
pipes she  poured  floods  of  water  on  the  crackling,  roaring,  blazing  mass ; 
while  all  the  time,  with  her  powerful  engines,  she  was  pushing  it  toward 
the  shore. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  sailors  from  the  fleet  of  small  boats  were  swarm- 
ing upon  the  raft  wherever  they  could  find  a  foot-hold  free  from  flame. 
Some  carrying  buckets  dashed  water  upon  the  flames,  some  with  axes  cut 
loose  flaming  timbers,  and  let  them  float  harmlessly  down  the  river.  It 
was  a  fight  in  which  all  the  men  were  on  one  side ;  but  it  was  a  grand 
sight,  and  was  eagerly  watched  by  those  on  the  imperilled  vessels.  The 

immediate  arena  of   the  conflict  was   bright    as  day,   but   all   around  was 

» 

gloom.  At  last  the  pluck  and  determination  of  the  men  triumph  over 
the  flames.  The  raft)"  flaming,  smouldering,  broken,  is  towed  out  of  the 
channel,  and  left  to  end  ,its  life  ^n  fitful  flashes  on  a  sandy  point.  The 
returning  boats  are  greeted  with  cheers,  and  soon  darkness  and  silence  fall 
upon  the  scene.  The  mortars  cease  their  thunderous  work  for  the  night ; 
and  ere  long  the  only  sounds  heard  are  the  rush  of  the  mighty  waters, 


FIRE-RAFT  AT  FORTS  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  229 


or  the  faint  cry  of  the  night-birds  in  the  forest.  The  sentinel  pacing 
the  deck  peers  in  vain  through  the  gloom.  War  gives  way  for  a  time  to 
rest. 

Hardly  had  the  gray  dawn  begun  to  appear,  when  the  roll  of  the  drums 
on  the  decks  of  the  ships  was  heard ;  and,  soon  after,  the  roar  of  the  opening 
gun  was  heard  from  one  of  the  mortar-schooners.  Again  the  bombardment 
was  opened.  The  twenty  boats  in  the  mortar-fleet  were  divided  into  three 
divisions,  each  of  which  fired  for  two  hours  in  succession,  and  then  stopped 
for  a  time  to  allow  the  great  cannon  to  cool.  Thus  a  continuous  bombard- 
ment was  kept  up,  and  the  soldiers  in  the  forts  were  given  no  time  to 
repair  the  damages  caused  by  the  bursting  shells.  Every  mortar  was 
fired  once  in  five  minutes ;  so  that  one  shell  was  hurled  towards  the  fort 
about  every  minute,  while  sometimes  three  shells  would  be  seen  sweeping 
with  majestic  curves  through  the  air  at  the  same  time.  The  shells  weighed 
two  hundred  and  fifteen  pounds;  and  when  they  were  hurled  into  the  air 
by  the  explosion  of  twenty  pounds  of  powder,  the  boat  bearing  the  mortar 
was  driven  down  into  the  water  six  or  eight  inches,  and  the  light  railings 
and  woodwork  of  buildings  at  the  Balize,  thirty  miles  away,  were  shattered 
by  the  concussion.  The  shells  rose  high  in  the  air,  with  an  unearthly 
shriek,  and  after  a  curve  of  a  mile  and  a  half  fell  into  or  near  the  forts, 
and,  bursting,  threw  their  deadly  fragments  in  all  directions.  Day  after 
day,  and  night  after  night,  this  went  on.  If  the  men  on  the  mortar- 
schooners  showed  bravery  and  endurance  in  keeping  up  so  exhausting  a 
fire  so  steadily,  what  shall  we  say  for  the  men  in  the  forts  who  bore  up 
against  it  so  nobly  ?  Before  noon  of  the  first  day  of  the  bombardment, 
the  soldiers  of  Fort  Jackson  saw  their  barracks  burned,  with  their  clothing, 
bedding,  and  several  days'  rations.  Shells  were  pouring  in  upon  them  from 
vessels  that  they  could  not  see.  The  smooth-bore  guns  mounted  in  the 
embrasures  would  hardly  send  a  shot  to  the  nearest  of  the  hostile  gunboats. 
Then  the  river  broke  through  its  banks,  and  half  the  fort  was  transformed 
into  a  morass.  An  officer  in  Fort  Jackson  said,  after  the  surrender,  that  in 
two  hours  over  one  hundred  shells  had  fallen  upon  the  parade-ground  of  that 
work,  tearing  it  up  terribly.  For  six  days  this  terrible  fire  was  endured ; 


230  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '6r. 

and  during  the  latter  half  of  the  bombardment  the  water  stood  knee  deep 
on  the  gun-platforms,  and  the  gunners  worked  at  their  guns  until  their 
shoes,  soaked  for  days  and  days,  fairly  fell  from  their  feet.  For  bed  and 
bedding  they  had  the  wet  earth,  for  rations  raw  meat  and  mouldy  bread. 
If  there  were  glory  and  victory  for  the  Union  sailors,  let  there  at  least  be 
honor  and  credit  granted  the  soldiers  of  the  gray  for  the  dogged  courage 
with  which  they  bore  the  terrible  bombardment  from  Porter's  flotilla. 

While  the  mortars  were  pounding  away  through  those  six  long  days  and 
nights,  Farragut  was  getting  ready  to  take  his  ships  past  the  forts.  Union 
scouts  and  spies  had  travelled  over  every  foot  of  land  and  water  about  the 
forts ;  and  the  exact  strength  of  the  Confederates,  and  the  difficulties  to  be 
overcome,  were  clearly  known  to  the  Federal  admiral.  One  of  the  chief 
obstructions  was  a  chain  of  rafts  and  old  hulks  that  stretched  across  the 
channel  by  which  the  fleet  would  be  obliged  to  ascend  the  river.  Under 
cover  of  a  tremendous  fire  from  all  the  mortars,  two  gunboats  were  sent  up 
to  remove  this  obstruction.  The  night  was  dark  and  favorable  to  the 
enterprise,  and  the  vessels  reached  the  chain  before  they  were  discovered. 
Then,  under  a  fierce  cannonade  from  the  forts,  Lieut.  Caldwell  put  off  in  a 
row-boat  from  his  vessel,  boarded  one  of  the  hulks,  and  managed  to  break 
the  chain.  The  string  of  hulks  was  quickly  swept  ashore  by  the  swift 
current,  and  the  channel  was  open  for  the  ascent  of  the  Union  fleet. 

On  the  23d  of  April,  Farragut  determined  that  his  fleet  should  make  the 
attempt  to  get  past  the  forts  the  following  day.  He  knew  that  the  enemy 
must  be  exhausted  with  the  terrible  strain  of  Porter's  bombardment,  and 
he  felt  that  the  opportunity  had  arrived  for  him  to  make  a  successful  dash 
for  the  upper  river.  The  fleet  was  all  prepared  for  a  desperate  struggle. 
Many  of  the  captains  had  daubed  the  sides  of  their  vessels  with  the  river 
mud,  that  they  might  be  less  prominent  marks  for  the  Confederate  gunners. 
The  chain  cables  of  all  the  vessels  were  coiled  about  vulnerable  parts,  or 
draped  over  the  sides  amidships  to  protect  the  boilers.  Knowing  that  it 
was  to  be  a  night  action,  the  gun-decks  had  been  whitewashed  ;  so  that  even 
by  the  dim,  uncertain  light  of  the  battle  lanterns,  the  gunners  could  see 
plainly  all  objects  about  them.  Hammocks  and  nettings  were  stretched 


BREAKING  THE  CHAIN. 


232  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


above  the  decks  to  catch  flying  splinters  from  the  spars  overhead.  Late 
at  night  the  admiral  in  his  longboat  was  pulled  from  ship  to  ship  to  view 
the  preparations  made,  and  see  that  each  captain  fully  understood  his 
orders. 

It  was  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  April,  when  the  Con- 
federates on  the  parapets  of  their  forts  might  have  heard  the  shrill  notes 
of  fifes,  the  steady  tramp  of  men,  the  sharp  clicking  of  capstans,  and  the 
grating  of  chain  cables  passing  through  the  hawse-holes  on  the  ships  below. 
Indeed,  it  is  probable  that  these  sounds  were  heard  at  the  forts,  and  were 
understood,  for  the  Confederates  were  on  the  alert  when  the  ships  came 
steaming  up  the  river. 

They  formed  in  a  stately  line  of  battle,  headed  by  the  "Cayuga."  As 
they  came  up  the  stream,  the  gunners  in  the  forts  could  see  the  mastheads 
over  the  low  willow  thickets  that  bordered  the  banks  of  the  stream.  The 
line  of  obstructions  was  reached  and  passed,  and  then  the  whole  furious  fire 
of  both  forts  fell  upon  the  advancing  ships.  Gallantly  they  kept  on  their 
way,  firing  thunderous  broadsides  from  each  side.  And,  while  the  ships 
were  under  the  direct  fire  of  the  forts,  the  enemy's  fleet  came  dashing 
down  the  river  to  dispute  the  way.  This  was  more  to  the  taste  of  Farragut 
and  his  boys  in  blue.  They  were  tired  of  fighting  stone  walls.  In  the  van 
of  the  Confederate  squadron  was  the  ram  "  Manassas,"  that  had  created 
such  a  panic  among  the  blockading  squadron  a  month  before.  She  plunged 
desperately  into  the  fight.  The  great  frigate  "Brooklyn"  was  a  prominent 
vessel  in  the  Union  line,  and  at  her  the  ram  dashed.  The  bold  hearts  on 
the  grand  old  frigate  did  not  seek  to  avoid  the  conflict,  and  the  two  vessels 
rushed  together.  The  ram  struck  the  "  Brooklyn  "  a  glancing  blow  ;  and 
the  shot  from  her  one  gun  was  returned  by  a  hail  of  cannon-balls  from  the 
frigate's  tremendous  broadside,  many  of  which  broke  through  the  iron 
plating.  Nothing  daunted,  the  ram  backed  off  and  rushed  at  the  frigate 
again.  This  time  she  struck  full  on  the  frigate's  side.  The  shock  was 
terrible.  Men  on  the  gun-deck  of  the  ram  were  hurled  to  the  deck, 
with  the  blood  streaming  from  their  nostrils.  The  frigate  keeled  over 
farther  and  farther,  until  all  thought  that  she  would  be  borne  beneath  the 


RAM  "TENNESSEE"  AT  MOBILE  BAY. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  235 


water  by  the  pressure  of  the  ram.  All  the  time  the  spiteful  bow-gun  of 
the  iron  monster  was  hurling  its  bolts  into  her  hull.  But  the  blow  of  the 
ram  had  done  no  damage,  for  she  had  struck  one  of  the  coils  of  chain  that 
had  been  hung  down  the  "  Brooklyn's  "  side.  The  two  vessels  slowly  swung 
apart  ;  and,  after  a  final  broadside  from  the  "  Brooklyn,"  the  "  Manassas  " 
drifted  away  in  the  pitchy  darkness  to  seek  for  new  adversaries.  She  was 
not  long  in  finding  one  ;  for  as  the  gray  dawn  was  breaking  she  suddenly 
found  herself  under  the  very  bows  of  the  "  Mississippi,"  which  was  bearing 
down  upon  her  and  seemed  sure  to  run  her  clown.  The  captain  of  the 
"  Manassas  "  was  an  able  steersman,  and  neatly  dodged  the  blow ;  but  in 
this  quick  movement  he  ran  his  vessel  ashore,  and  she  lay  there  under  the 
guns  of  the  "  Mississippi,"  and  unable  to  bring  any  of  her  own  guns  to  bear. 
The  captain  of  the  frigate  was  not  slow  in  taking  advantage  of  this  chance 
to  be  revenged  for  all  the  trouble  she  had  given  the  Union  fleet ;  and  he 
took  up  a  good  position,  and  pounded  away  with  his  heavy  guns  at  the  iron 
monster.  The  heavy  shots  crashed  through  the  iron  plating  and  came 
plunging  in  the  portholes,  seeking  every  nook  and  cranny  about  the  vessel. 
It  was  too  much  for  men  to  stand,  and  the  crew  of  the  "  Manassas  "  fled  to 
the  woods  ;  while  their  vessel  was  soon  set  on  fire  with  red-hot  shots,  and 
blew  up  with  a  tremendous  report  soon  after. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  ships  of  the  Union  fleet  were  doing  daring  work, 
and  meeting  a  determined  resistance.  The  flag-ship  "  Hartford  "  was  met 
by  a  tug  which  pushed  a  huge  burning  fire-raft  against  her  sides.  There 
the  flaming  thing  lay  right  up  against  the  port-holes,  the  flames  catching  the 
tarred  rigging,  and  running  up  the  masts.  Farragut  walked  his  quarter- 
deck as  coolly  as  though  the  ship  was  on  parade.  "  Don't  flinch  from  that 
fire,  boys,"  he  sang  out,  as  the  flames  rushed  in  the  port-holes,  and  drove 
the  men  from  their  guns.  "  There's  a  hotter  fire  than  that  for  those  who 
don't  do  their  duty.  Give  that  rascally  little  tug  a  shot,  and  don't  let 
her  go  off  with  a  whole  coat."  But  the  tug  did  get  away,  after  all ;  and  no 
one  can  feel  sorry  that  men  plucky  enough  to  take  an  unarmed  tug  into  a 
terrible  fight  of  frigates  and  ironclads  should  escape  with  their  lives.  The 
men  on  the  "  Hartford  "  fought  the  flamfes  with  hose  and  buckets,  and  at 


236  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   'Gi. 


last  got  rid  of  their  dangerous  neighbor.  Then  they  saw  a  steamer 
crowded  with  men  rushing  toward  the  flag-ship  without  firing  a  shot,  and 
evidently  intending  to  board.  Capt.  Broome,  with  a  crew  of  marines,  was 
working  a  bow-gun  on  the  "Hartford."  Carefully  he  trained  the  huge 
piece  upon  the  approaching  steamer.  He  stepped  back,  stooped  for  a  last 
glance  along  the  sights,  then  with  a  quick  pull  of  the  lanyard  the  great 
gun  went  off  with  a  roar,  followed  instantly  by  a  louder  explosion  from  the 
attacking  steamer.  When  the  smoke  cleared  away,  all  looked  eagerly  for 
the  enemy ;  but  she  had  vanished  as  if  by  magic.  That  single  shot,  striking 
her  magazine,  had  blown  her  up  with  all  on  board. 

Much  of  the  hardest  fighting  was  done  by  the  smaller  vessels  on  either 
side.  The  little  Confederate  "cotton-clad"  "Governor  Moore"  made  a 
desperate  fight,  dashing  through  the  Union  fleet,  taking  and  giving  broad- 
sides in  every  direction.  The  Union  vessel  "Varuna"  also  did  daring  work, 
and  naturally  these  two  ships  met  in  desperate  conflict.  After  exchanging 
broadsides,  the  "  Governor  Moore  "  rammed  her  adversary,  and,  while  bear- 
ing down  on  her,  received  a  severe  raking  fire  from  the  "Varuna."  The 
"Governor  Moore"  was  in  such  a  position  that  none  of  her  guns  could  be 
brought  to  bear ;  but  her  captain  suddenly  depressed  the  muzzle  of  his  bow- 
gun,  and  sent  a  shot  crashing  through  his  own  deck  and  side,  and  deep  into 
the  hull  of  the  "Varuna."  The  vessels  soon  parted,  but  the  "Varuna" 
had  received  her  death-wound,  and  sank  in  shallow  water.  The  "  Governor 
Moore  "  kept  on  her  way,  but  was  knocked  to  pieces  by  the  fire  from  the 
heavy  guns  of  the  frigates  shortly  after. 

And  so  the  battle  raged  for  five  hours.  To  recount  in  full  the  deeds 
of  valor  clone,  would  be  to  tell  the  story  of  each  ship  engaged,  and  would 
require  volumes.  Witnesses  who  saw  the  fight  from  the  start  were  deeply 
impressed  by  the  majesty  of  the  scene.  It  was  like  a  grand  panorama. 
"  From  almost  perfect  silence,  —  the  steamers  moving  through  the  water 
like  phantom  ships,  —  one  incessant  roar  of  heavy  cannon  commenced, 
the  Confederate  forts  and  gunboats  opening  together  on  the  head  of  our 
line  as  it  came  within  range.  The  Union  vessels  returned  the  fire  as 
they  came  up,  and  soon  the  hundred  and  seventy  guns  of  our  fleet  joined 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  237 


in  the  thunder  which  seemed  to  shake  the  very  earth.  A  lurid  glare 
was  thrown  over  the  scene  by  the  burning  rafts  ;  and,  as  the  bombshells 
crossed  each  other  and  exploded  in  the  air,  it  seemed  as  if  a  battle  were 
taking  place  in  the  heavens  as  well  as  on  the  earth.  It  all  ended  as 
suddenly  as  it  commenced." 

While  this  gigantic  contest  was  going  on  in  the  river  abreast  of  the 
forts,  the  people  of  New  Orleans  were  thronging  the  streets,  listening  to 
the  unceasing  roar  of  the  great  guns,  and  discussing,  with  pale  faces  and 
anxious  hearts,  the  outcome  of  the  fight.  "  Farragut  can  never  pass  our 
forts.  His  wooden  ships  will  be  blown  to  pieces  by  their  fire,  or  dashed 
into  atoms  by  the  '  Manassas,'  "  people  said.  But  many  listened  in  silence  : 
they  had  husbands,  sons,  or  brothers  in  that  fearful  fight,  and  who  could 
tell  that  they  would  return  alive  ?  By  and  by  the  firing  ceased.  Only  an 
occasional  shot  broke  the  stillness  of  the  morning.  Then  came  the  sus- 
pense. Had  the  fleet  been  beaten  back,  or  was  it  above  the  forts,  and 
even  now  sullenly  steaming  up  to  the  city  ?  Everybody  rushed  for  the 
housetops  to  look  to  the  southward,  over  the  low  land  through  which  the 
Mississippi  winds.  An  hour's  waiting,  and  they  see  curls  of  smoke  rising 
above  the  trees,  then  slender  dark  lines  moving  along  above  the  treetops. 
"  Are  they  our  ships  ? "  every  one  cries ;  and  no  one  answers  until  the 
dark  lines  are  seen  to  be  crossed  by  others  at  right  angles.  They  are 
masts  with  yard-arms,  masts  of  sea -going  vessels,  the  masts  of  the 
invader's  fleet.  A  cry  of  grief,  of  fear,  of  rage,  goes  up  from  the  house- 
tops. "To  the  levee!"  cry  the  men,  and  soon  the  streets  resound  with 
the  rush  of  many  feet  toward  the  river.  "  The  river  is  crooked,  and  its 
current  swift.  It  will  be  hours  before  the  Yankees  can  arrive  :  let  us  burn, 
destroy,  that  they  may  find  no  booty."  Let  one  who  was  in  the  sorrowful 
city  that  terrible  April  day  tell  the  story.  "I  went  to  the  river-side.  There, 
until  far  into  the  night,  I  saw  hundreds  of  drays  carrying  cotton  out  of 
the  presses  and  yards  to  the  wharves,  where  it  was  fired.  The  glare 
of  those  sinuous  miles  of  flame  set  men  and  women  weeping  and  wailing 
thirty  miles  away,  on  the  farther  shore  of  Lake  Pontchartrain.  But  the 
next  day  was  the  day  of  terrors.  During  the  night,  fear,  wrath,  and  sense 


238  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '6r. 

of  betrayal,  had  run  through  the  people  as  the  fire  had  run  through  the 
cotton.  You  have  seen,  perhaps,  a  family  fleeing,  with  lamentations  and 
wringing  of  hands,  out  of  a  burning  house ;  multiply  it  by  thousands  upon 
thousands :  that  was  New  Orleans,  though  the  houses  were  not  burning, 
The  firemen  were  out ;  but  they  cast  fire  on  the  waters,  putting  the 
torch  to  the  empty  ships  and  cutting  them  loose  to  float  down  the  river. 

"  Whoever  could  go  was  going.  The  great  mass  that  had  no  place 
to  go  to,  or  means  to  go  with,  was  beside  itself.  '  Betrayed  !  betrayed  ! ' 
it  cried,  and  ran  in  throngs  from  street  to  street,  seeking  some  vent,  some 
victim  for  its  wrath.  I  saw  a  crowd  catch  a  poor  fellow  at  the  corner 
of  Magazine  and  Common  Streets,  whose  crime  was  that  he  looked  like 
a  stranger  and  might  be  a  spy.  He  was  the  palest  living  man  I  ever  saw. 
They  swung  him  to  a  neighboring  lamp-post ;  but  the  Foreign  Legion  was 
patroling  the  town  in  strong  squads,  and  one  of  its  lieutenants,  all  green 
and  gold,  leaped  with  drawn  sword,  cut  the  rope,  and  saved  the  man. 
This  was  one  occurrence ;  there  were  many  like  it.  I  stood  in  the  rear 
door  of  our  store,  Canal  Street,  soon  after  re-opening  it.  The  junior  of 
the  firm  was  within.  I  called  him  to  look  toward  the  river.  The  masts 
of  the  cutter  'Washington*  were  slowly  tipping,  declining,  sinking  —  down 
she  went.  The  gunboat  moored  next  her  began  to  smoke  all  over  and 
then  to  blaze.  My  employers  lifted  up  their  heels  and  left  the  city,  left 
their  goods  and  their  affairs  in  the  hands  of  one  mere  lad  —  no  stranger 
would  have  thought  I  had  reached  fourteen — and  one  big  German  porter. 
I  closed  the  doors,  sent  the  porter  to  his  place  in  the  Foreign  Legion, 
and  ran  to  the  levee  to  see  the  sights. 

"  What  a  gathering !  —  the  riff-raff  of  the  wharves,  the  town,  the  gutters. 
Such  women !  such  wrecks  of  women  !  and  all  the  juvenile  rag-tag. 
The  lower  steamboat-landing,  well  covered  with  sugar,  rice,  and  molasses, 
was  being  rifled.  The  men  smashed  ;  the  women  scooped  up  the  smash- 
ings.  The  river  was  overflowing  the  top  of  the  levee.  A  rain-storm  began 
to  threaten.  'Are  the  Yankee  ships  in  sight?'  I  asked  of  an  idler.  He 
pointed  out  the  tops  of  their  naked  masts  as  they  showed  up  across  the 
huge  bend  of  the  river.  They  were  engaging  the  batteries  at  Camp 


NEW  ORLEANS  ON  THE  APPROACH  OF  THE  FLEET. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  241 


Chalmette,  the  old  field  of  Jackson's  renown.  Presently  that  was  over. 
Ah,  me  !  I  see  them  now  as  they  come  slowly  round  Slaughterhouse  Point, 
into  full  view :  silent,  so  grim  and  terrible,  black  with  men,  heavy  with 
deadly  portent,  the  long  banished  stars  and  stripes  flying  against  the 
frowning  sky.  Oh  for  the  '  Mississippi,'  the  '  Mississippi !  '  Just  then 
she  came  down  upon  them.  But  how  ?  Drifting  helplessly,  a  mass  of 
flames. 

"  The  crowds  on  the  levee  howled  and  screamed  with  rage.  The  swarm- 
ing decks  answered  never  a  word ;  but  one  old  tar  on  the  '  Hartford,' 
standing  with  lanyard  in  hand,  beside  a  great  pivot-gun,  so  plain  to  view 
that  you  could  see  him  smile,  silently  patted  its  big  black  breech  and 
blandly  grinned." 

As  the  masts  of  the  fleet  came  up  the  river,  a  young  man  stepped  out 
upon  the  roof  of  the  City  Hall,  and  swiftly  hoisted  the  flag  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana.  When  the  ships  came  up,  two  officers  were  sent  ashore  to  de- 
mand the  surrender  of  the  city ;  and  shoulder  to  shoulder  the  two  old  sailors 
marched  through  a  howling,  cursing  mob  to  the  City  Hall.  The  mayor 
refused  to  surrender  the  city,  saying  that  Farragut  already  had  captured 
it.  The  officers  went  back  to  their  ships,  and  the  flag  still  floated.  Two 
days  later  the  officers,  with  a  hundred  sailors  and  marines,  returned  and 
demanded  that  the  flag  be  hauled  down.  No  one  in  the  city  would  tear  it 
down,  and  the  Federals  went  up  to  the  roof  to  lower  it  themselves.  The 
street  and  surrounding  housetops  were  crowded  with  a  hostile  people,  all 
armed.  No  one  could -tell  that  the  fall  of  the  flag  would  not  be  followed 
by  a  volley  from  the  undisciplined  populace.  The  marines  in  front  of  the 
building  stood  grouped  about  two  loaded  howitzers  that  bore  upon  the 
darkly  muttering  crowd.  Violence  was  in  the  air.  As  the  two  officers 
rose  to  go  to  the  roof,  the  mayor,  a  young  Creole,  left  the  room  and  de- 
scended the  stairs.  Quietly  he  stepped  out  into  the  street,  and  without  a 
word  stood  before  one  of  the  howitzers,  his  arms  folded,  eying  the  gunner, 
who  stood  with  lanyard  in  hand,  ready  to  fire  at  the  word  of  command. 
The  flag  fell  slowly  from  the  staff.  Not  a  sound  arose  from  the  crowd. 
All  were  watching  the  mayor,  who  stood  coldly  looking  on  death.  The 


242 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


Federal  officers  came  down  carrying  the  flag.  A  few  sharp  commands, 
and  the  marines  tramped  away  down  the  street,  with  the  howitzers  clanking 
behind  them.  The  crowd  cheered  for  Mayor  Monroe  and  dispersed,  and 
New  Orleans  became  again  a  city  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


ALONG  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  —  FORTS  JACKSON  AND  ST.  PHILIP  SURRENDER.  -  THE  BATTLE 
AT  ST.  CHARLES.  —  THE  RAM  "  ARKANSAS."  —  BOMBARDMENT  AND  CAPTURE  OF  PORT 
HUDSON. 

HILE  New  Orleans  was  thus  excited  over  the  capture  of  the  city, 
the  soldiers  in  the  forts  below  were  debating  as  to  the  course  they 
should  adopt.  They  had  not  surrendered  ;  and  although  the  great 
bastions  were  pounded  out  of  shape  by  the  heavy  guns  of  the  fleet, 
yet  they  were  still  formidable  defences,  giving  perfect  security  to  the  men 
in  the  bomb-proofs.  But  their  case  was  hopeless  :  for  Farragut  was  at  New 
Orleans,  and  could  cut  off  their  supplies ;  while  Porter,  with  his  mortar-boats, 
was  below  them,  putting  escape  out  of  the  question.  Every  now  and  then 
a  big  shell  would  drop  on  the  parade,  and  its  flying  pieces  would  remind  the 
garrison  that  their  enemies  were  getting  impatient.  After  waiting  a  day  or 
two,  Porter  sent  a  lieutenant  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  fort,  calling  upon 
the  Confederate  commander  to  surrender  the  two  forts  and  the  shattered 
remnant  of  the  Confederate  navy.  He  complimented  the  Confederates 
upon  their  gallant  defence,  but  warned  them,  that,  should  they  refuse  to 
surrender,  he  would  recommence  his  bombardment  with  new  vigor.  The 
Confederates  refused  to  surrender  until  they  heard  from  New  Orleans ;  and 
the  next  day  the  monotonous  thunder  of  the  heavy  mortars  began  again,  and 

243 


244  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


again  the  heavy  shells  began  falling  thick  and  fast  upon  the  forts.  Wearily 
the  gray-coated  soldiers  settled  down  to  continue  what  they  felt  must  be  a 
useless  defence.  The  officers  did  their  best  to  inspirit  the  men  ;  but  all 
knew  that  a  surrender  must  come  before  Iong5  and  at  last  the  men  muti- 
nously left  their  guns,  and  said  they  would  fight  no  longer.  They  had  borne 
without  flinching  a  terrible  bombardment,  and  now  they  felt  that  to  fight 
longer  would  be  a  foolish  sacrifice  of  life.  Many  left  the  forts,  and  plunged 
into  the  woods  to  escape  the  terrible  shells.  Gen.  Duncan  saw  that  all  was 
lost,  and  on  the  night  of  the  28th  of  April  sent  an  officer  to  the  fleet  announ- 
cing the  surrender.  On  the  following  day  Porter  proceeded  up-stream  with 
his  squadron,  and  anchored  off  the  fort.  A  boat,  manned  by  six  trim  sailors 
in  dress  uniforms,  put  off,  and  soon  returned,  bringing  the  commander  of 
the  defeated  forces  and  two  or  three  officers.  They  were  received  on  the 
"  Harriet  Lane,"  and  Commodore  Porter  had  made  great  preparations  for 
the  meeting.  The  crews  of  all  the  vessels  were  dressed  in  snow-white 
mustering-suits,  and  the  officers  in  brass-buttoned  blue  coats  and  white 
trousers.  The  decks  were  scrubbed,  and  all  traces  of  the  fight  cleared 
away.  As  the  Confederate  officers  came  up  to  the  fleet,  one  of  them,  a 
former  lieutenant  in  the  Union  navy,  said,  "  Look  at  the  old  navy.  I  feel 
proud  when  I  see  them.  There  are  no  half-breeds  there  :  they  are  the 
simon-pure."  As  the  Confederates  came  over  the  side,  Porter  stood, 
with  his  officers,  ready  to  receive  them.  The  greatest  politeness  was 
observed  on  either  side ;  and  Porter  writes,  "  Their  bearing  was  that  of 
men  who  had  gained  a  victory,  instead  of  undergoing  defeat."  While 
the  papers  of  capitulation  were  being  signed,  a  message  came  from  the  deck 
that  the  huge  Confederate  ironclad  "Louisiana"  was  drifting  down  upon 
them,  a  mass  of  flames,  and  there  was  great  danger  that  she  would  blow  up 
in  the  midst  of  the  Union  fleet.  "  This  is  sharp  practice,  gentlemen,"  said 
Porter,  "and  some  of  us  will  perhaps  be  blown  up  ;  but  I  know  what  to  do. 
If  you  can  stand  what  is  coming,  we  can  ;  but  I  will  make  it  lively  for  those 
people  if  anybody  in  the  flotilla  is  injured." 

"  I  told  Lieut.  Wainwright  to  hail  the  steamer  next  him,"  writes  Capt. 
Porter,  "  and  tell  her  captain  to  pass  the  word  for  the  others  to  veer  out  all 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  245 

their  riding-chains  to  the  bitter  end,  and  stand  by  to  sheer  clear  of  the  burn- 
ing ironclad  as  she  drifted  down.  I  then  sat  down  to  the  table,  and  said, 
'  Gentlemen,  we  will  proceed  to  sign  the  capitulation.'  I  handed  the  paper 
to  Gen.  Duncan,  and  looked  at  the  Confederate  officers  to  see  how  they 
would  behave  under  the  circumstances  of  a  great  ironclad  dropping  down 
on  them,  all  in  flames,  with  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  powder  in  her  maga- 
zines. For  myself,  I  hoped  the  fire  would  not  reach  the  powder  until  the 
ship  had  drifted  some  distance  below  us.  My  greatest  fear  was  that  she 
would  run  foul  of  some  of  the  steamers. 

"  While  I  was  thinking  this  over,  the  officers  were  sitting  as  coolly  as 
if  at  tea-table  among  their  friends. 

"Just  then  there  was  a  stir  on  deck,  a  kind  of  swaying  of  the  vessel  to 
and  fro,  a  rumbling  in  the  air,  then  an  explosion  which  seemed  to  shake  the 
heavens.  The  'Harriet  Lane'  was  thrown  two  streaks  over,  and  every 
thing  in  the  cabin  was  jostled  from  side  to  side  ;  but  not  a  man  left  his  seat, 
or  showed  any  intention  of  doing  so. 

"  I  was  glad  that  I  had  signed  before  the  explosion  took  place,  as  I  would 
not  have  liked  to  have  my  autograph  look  shaky." 

The  destruction  of  the  "Louisiana"  was  a  bit  of  trickery  on  the  part  of 
the  Confederate  naval  officers,  which  Farragut  punished  by  sending  them 
North  as  close  prisoners,  while  the  army  officers  were  granted  freedom  under 
parol.  So  ended  the  Confederate  control  over  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 
sippi ;  and  Porter,  after  waiting  long  enough  to  see  a  blue-coat  garrison  in 
Forts  St.  Philip  and  Jackson,  started  up  the  river  to  rejoin  his  chief  in  New 
Orleans. 

But,  on  reaching  the  city,  he  found  that  the  energetic  admiral  had 
already  started  out  to  clear  the  river  of  the  Confederate  batteries  that  lined 
it  on  either  side  as  far  up  as  Vicksburg.  This  was  a  service  of  no  little 
danger,  and  one  bringing  but  little  satisfaction  ;  for  no  sooner  had  the  gun- 
boats left  one  point,  from  which  by  hard  firing  they  had  driven  the  Confed- 
erates, than  the  latter  would  return  in  force,  build  up  again  their  shattered 
earthworks,  mount  new  guns,  and  be  once  more  ready  for  battle.  But  more 
powerful  than  these  little  one  or  two  gun-batteries  were  the  Confederate 


246  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

works  at  Port  Hudson,  the  destruction  of  which  was  absolutely  necessary  for 
further  Union  successes  on  the  great  river.  Between  Port  Hudson  and 
Vicksburg,  the  river  was  completely  under  the  control  of  the  Confederates ; 
and  it  was  a  powerful  gunboat  that  could  hope  to  navigate  that  stretch  of 
water  unharmed.  Farragut  determined  to  attack  Port  Hudson,  and  set  the 
I4th  of  March,  1863,  as  the  date  for  the  action. 

Port  Hudson  batteries  were  perched  on  a  high  bluff  that  overlooks  one 
of  those  abrupt  curves  around  which  the  current  of  the  Mississippi  River 
sweeps  with  such  terrific  force.  The  heavy  guns  bore  down  upon  a  point 
at  which  the  ships  would  almost  inevitably  be  swept  out  of  their  course  by 
the  swift  stream,  and  where  the  river  was  filled  with  treacherous  shifting 
shoals.  Naval  officers  all  agreed  that  to  pass  those  batteries  was  a  more 
difficult  task  than  had  been  the  passage  of  the  forts  below  New  Orleans ;  yet 
Farragut,  eager  to  get  at  the  stronghold  of  the  foe  in  Vicksburg,  determined 
to  make  the  attempt.  The  mortar-vessels  were  stationed  below  to  drive  the 
enemy  from  his  guns  with  well-directed  bombs  ;  while  the  fleet,  led  by 
the  stanch  old  •"  Hartford,"  should  make  a  bold  dash  up  the  river. 

Night  fell  upon  the  scene ;  and  the  ships  weighed  anchor,  and  started 
upon  their  perilous  voyage.  To  the  side  of  each  man-of-war  was  bound  a 
gunboat  to  tow  the  great  vessel  out  of  danger  in  case  of  disaster.  Silently 
the  long  string  of  vessels  swept  upward  towards  the  batteries ;  but,  as  the 
"Hartford"  came  into  range,  the  watchful  Confederates  gave  the  alarm, 
an.d  the  nearest  battery  at  once  opened  fire.  Then  from  Porter's  mortar- 
schooners  far  down  the  river  came  an  answering  roar ;  and,  as  ship  after 
ship  came  up  into  range,  she  opened  with  shot  and  shell  upon  the  works. 
On  the  dark  river-banks  great  alarm  fires  were  kindled,  lighting  up  the 
water  with  a  lurid  glare,  and  making  the  ships  clearly  visible  to  the  Confed- 
erate gunners.  But  soon  the  smoke  of  battle  settled  down  over  all ;  and 
gunners,  whether  on  shore  or  on  the  ships,  fired  at  random.  The  "  Hart- 
ford "  led  the  way,  and  picked  out  the  course  ;  and  the  other  vessels  followed 
carefully  in  her  wake.  In  the  mizzen-top  of  the  flag-ship  was  stationed  a 
cool  old  river  pilot,  who  had  guided  many  a  huge  river  steamer,  freighted 
with  precious  lives,  through  the  mazy  channels  of  the  Mississippi.  There, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  247 

high  above  the  battle-smoke,  heedless  of  the  grape-shot  and  bits  of  flying 
shell  whistling  around  him,  he  stood  at  his  post,  calmly  giving  his  orders 
through  a  speaking-tube  that  led  to  the  wheel-room.  Now  and  then  the 
admiral  on  the  deck  below  would  call  up,  asking  about  the  pilot's  safety,  and 
was  always  answered  with  a  cheery  hail.  But  though  the  "  Hartford " 
went  by  the  batteries,  heedless  of  the  storm  and  lead  poured  upon  her,  she 
found  herself  alone,  when,  after  firing  a  last  gun,  she  swept  into  the  clear 
air  and  tranquil  water  out  of  range  of  the  enemy's  guns.  She  waited  some 
time  for  the  other  ships  to  come  up,  while  all  on  board  watched  eagerly, 
save  those  who  lay  moaning  on  the  surgeon's  tables  in  the  cockpit  below. 
The  night  wore  on,  and  all  on  board  were  consumed  with  anxiety  for  the 
fate  of  the  vessels  that  had  dropped  behind.  The  lookout  in  the  tops 
reported  that  he  could  see  far  down  the  river  a  bright  red  light  that  could 
only  be  caused  by  a  burning  vessel.  It  proved  to  be  the  steamer  "  Missis- 
sippi," that  had  grounded  under  the  guns  of  the  batteries,  and  had  been  fired 
and  abandoned  by  her  crew.  But  of  this  the  admiral  knew  nothing ;  and 
when,  after  an  hour  or  two,  he  heard  the  dull,  heavy  boom  of  an  explosion, 
he  went  sadly  to  his  cabin,  fearing  that  the  lives  of  many  valiant  sailors  had 
been  sacrificed.  There  was  no  way  to  communicate  with  the  fleet  below, 
and  it  was  not  until  days  afterward  that  the  admiral  learned  how  his  fleet 
had  been  beaten  back  by  the  heavy  guns  of  the  Confederates  and  the  swift 
current  of  the  river.  The  "  Richmond  "  grounded  at  a  point  within  easy 
range  of  the  batteries,  and  her  crew  fought  desperately  while  shell  after 
shell  went  crashing  through  her  hull.  They  saw  the  other  vessels  of  the 
fleet  go  drifting  by  helpless  in  the  mighty  current  of  the  river,  but  they 
faltered  not  in  their  brave  defence  until  they  saw  their  ship  a  wreck  and  in 
flames.  Then  leaving  their  dead  comrades  with  the  "  Richmond "  for  a 
funeral  pyre,  they  escaped  to  the  shore,  and  threaded  their  way  through 
miles  of  morasses  and  dense  thickets  until  they  came  to  the  mortar-boats, 
where  they  found  refuge  and  rest.  And  so  that  first  attack  on  Port  Hudson 
ended  with  Farragut  above  the  batteries,  and  his  ships  below.  It  had  only 
served  to  prove,  that,  safe  in  their  heavy  earthworks,  the  Confederates  could 
defy  any  attack  by  ships  alone.  This  fact  was  clear  to  the  Union  authori- 


248  BLUE -JACKETS   OF   '61. 


ties,  and  they  began  massing  troops  about  the  hostile  works.  Two  months 
later,  Porter's  mortar-boats,  the  frigates  and  gunboats,  and  the  batteries  and 
muskets  of  an  immense  body  of  troops,  opened  on  the  works.  While  the 
heavy  fire  was  being  kept  up,  the  Union  armies  were  closing  in,  digging 
trenches,  and  surrounding  the  Confederates  on  all  sides.  The  firing  came 
to  be  short-range  work  and  very  deadly.  "  To  show  you  what  cool  and 
desperate  fighting  it  was,"  says  a  Confederate,  "  I  had  at  least  twenty-five 
shots  at  Federals  not  two  hundred  feet  away.  In  one  instance  I  fired  upon 
a  lieutenant  who  was  urging  on  his  men.  I  wounded  him  in  his  left  arm. 
He  fired  at  me  with  his  revolver,  and  sent  a  bullet  through  my  cap.  Next 
time  I  hit  him  in  the  hip,  and  he  fell ;  but,  while  I  was  reloading,  he  raised 
himself  up,  and  shot  the  man  next  to  me  through  the  head.  The  officer 
was  so  close  to  me  that  I  could  tell  the  color  of  his  eyes,  and  detect  a  small 
scar  on  his  face." 

This  sort  of  work  continued  for  weeks,  with  occasional  charges  by  the 
Federals.  Farragut's  fleet  kept  up  its  bombardment,  but  did  little  damage. 
One  of  the  Confederate  soldiers  said,  some  time  after  the  war,  "  One  can 
get  used  to  almost  any  thing.  After  the  first  two  or  three  days,  we  took 
the  bombardment  as  part  of  the  regular  routine.  Pieces  of  shell  were 
continually  flying  about,  and  it  was  the  regular  thing  for  a  bomb  to  drop 
down  among  us  at  intervals.  I  have  seen  them  come  down  within  fifty 
feet  of  a  sentinel,  and  throw  up  a  wagon -load  of  dirt,  without  his  even  turn- 
ing his  head.  We  had  but  few  men  hurt  by  the  artillery-fire.  I  do  not 
believe  we  averaged  one  man  hit  for  every  thousand  pounds  of  metal 
thrown.  I  remember  that  one  day  I  counted  thirteen  shells  and  bombs 
hurled  at  the  spot  where  I  was  posted  before  we  had  a  man  hurt,  and  he 
was  only  slightly  wounded."  Naturally,  such  work  as  this  could  not  drive 
the  Confederates  from  their  trenches  ;  and  the  fleet  soon  concluded  to  leave 
the  army  to  capture  Port  Hudson,  while  the  ships  steamed  on  up  the  river 
toward  Vicksburg.  The  army  kept  up  the  siege  for  weeks,  until  the  Con- 
federates, hearing  of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  surrendered. 

While  the  Union  fleet  was  thus  fighting  its  way  up  to  Vicksburg,  the 
Confederates  were  working  away  at  a  great  ram  that  they  were  building 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  249 

in  a  secluded  spot  far  up  the  Yazoo  River.  Work  on  the  ram  was  being 
pushed  with  the  greatest  energy ;  and  the  Union  sailors,  in  their  ships  on 
the  Mississippi,  listened  daily  to  the  stories  of  escaping  negroes,  and  won- 
dered when  the  big  ship  would  come  down  and  give  them  a  tussle.  The 
crew  of  the  ram  were  no  less  impatient  for  the  fray ;  for  they  were  tired 
of  being  hidden  away  up  a  little  river,  plagued  by  mosquitoes  and  gnats. 
The  dark  shades  of  the  heavy  forests  were  seldom  brightened  by  a  ray  of 
sun.  The  stream  was  full  of  alligators,  that  lay  lazily  on  the  banks  all 
day,  and  bellowed  dismally  all  night.  The  chirp  of  a  bird  was  rarely 
heard.  In  its  place  were  the  discordant  screams  of  cranes,  or  hisses  of  the 
moccasins  or  cotton-mouths.  When  at  last  the  carpenters'  clatter  had 
ceased,  and  the  ram,  ready  for  action,  lay  in  the  little  river,  the  crew  were 
mustered  on  the  deck,  and  told  that  the  new  boat  had  been  built  to  clear 
the  Union  vessels  from  the  Mississippi,  and  that  purpose  should  be  carried 
out.  No  white  flag  was  to  flutter  from  that  flag-staff ;  and  she  should  sink 
with  all  her  crew  before  she  would  surrender.  Any  sailor  who  feared  to 
enter  upon  such  a  service  might  leave  the  ship  at  once.  No  one  left ;  and 
the  "Arkansas  "  started  down  the  river  to  look  for  an  enemy.  She  was  not 
long  in  finding  one.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  floated  three  Union  gun- 
boats,—the  " Carondelet,"  the  "Tyler,"  and  the  "Queen  of  the  West." 
As  the  ram  came  down  into  sight,  her  men  heard  the  roll  of  the  drums  on 
the  decks  of  the  hostile  vessels.  The  gunboats  quickly  opened  fire,  which 
was  as  promptly  returned  by  the  "  Arkansas ; "  and,  as  she  came  swiftly 
rushing  down  the  stream,  the  three  vessels  fled  before  her.  The  men  on 
the  ram  were  all  new  recruits,  and  made  awkward  work  of  the  firing ;  but 
as  she  came  to  close  quarters  she  sent  her  shells  crashing  into  the  Union 
ships,  while  the  shot  she  received  in  return  rattled  harmlessly  off  her 
steel-mailed  sides.  The  "  Carondelet  "  was  the  first  vessel  to  come  to  grief. 
She  had  hardly  fired  four  shots  when  a  heavy  solid  shot  crashed  through 
her  side,  and  rattled  against  the  most  delicate  part  of  the  engine.  She 
was  helpless  at  once ;  and  hardly  had  this  damage  been  reported  when  a 
second  shot  came  with  a  burst  into  an  open  port,  killed  five  men,  and  broke 
its  way  out  the  other  side.  In  ten  minutes  her  decks  were  slippery  with 


250 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


blood,  and  thick  strewn  with  wounded  and  dead  men.  The  current  of  the 
river  drifted  her  upon  a  sandbar;  and  she  lay  there  helplessly,  now  and 
again  answering  the  galling  fire  of  her  foe  with  a  feeble  shot.  Pouring  in 
a  last  broadside,  the  "Arkansas"  steamed  past  her,  and,  disregarding  the 
other  two  vessels,  headed  for  Vicksburg,  where  she  knew  her  aid  was 
sorely  needed. 

The  news  of  her  coming  preceded  her ;  and,  when  she  came  within  sight 


THE  "ARKANSAS"    UNDER   FIRE. 

of  the  steeples  of  the  city,  at  least  ten  thousand  people  were  watching  her 
progress,  and  wondering  whether  she  could  pass  by  the  Federal  batteries  and 
through  the  Federal  fleet.  The  Federal  fleet  was  all  ready  for  her,  and  pre- 
pared such  a  gauntlet  for  the  "  Arkansas  "  as  had  never  been  run  by  any 
vessel.  As  she  came  within  range,  every  Union  gun  that  could  be  brought 
to  bear  opened ;  and  shot  and  shell  rained  from  shore-batteries  and  marine 
guns  upon  the  tough  hide  of  the  ram.  As  she  sped  by  the  vessels,  they  gave 
her  their  broadsides,  and  the  effect  was  tremendous.  As  the  huge  iron  balls 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  251 

v 

struck  the  ship,  she  keeled  far  over;  and  to  her  crew  inside,  it  seemed  as 
though  she  was  being  lifted  bodily  out  of  the  water.  Not  a  shot  broke 
through  the  armor ;  but  the  terrible  concussions  knocked  men  down,  and 
made  blood  come  pouring  from  their  nostrils.  For  new  men,  her  crew  fought 
well  and  bravely ;  though  two  fell  flat  on  their  faces,  afraid  to  lift  their  heads, 
lest  they  be  taken  off  by  a  shell. 

When  it  was  seen  that  the  "  Arkansas  "  was  likely  to  pass  through  the 
lines  unscathed,  the  Federals  tried  to  blockade  her  way ;  but  she  deviated 
not  an  inch  from  her  path.  The  vessel  that  stood  before  her  had  to  move 
aside,  or  take  the  chances  of  a  blow  from  her  terrible  iron  beak.  She  came 
straight  to  the  centre  of  the  fleet  before  opening  fire ;  and  when  her  port- 
holes were  opened,  and  the  big  guns  peered  out,  they  found  plenty  of  tar- 
gets. Her  first  volley  knocked  a  gunboat  to  pieces ;  and  in  another  minute 
she  had  crashed  into  the  side  of  a  Union  ram,  sending  that  unlucky  craft 
ashore  for  repairs.  But  the  storm  of  solid  shot  was  too  much  for  her ;  and 
she  was  forced  to  seek  shelter  under  the  bluffs,  where  the  heavy  guns  of  the 
Confederate  shore-batteries  compelled  the  Union  ships  to  keep  a  respectful 
distance.  Here  she  lay  for  several  weeks,  beating  off  every  assault  of  the 
Federals,  and  making  a  valuable  addition  to  the  defences  of  the  city.  But, 
in  an  evil  hour,  the  Confederate  authorities  decided  to  send  her  down  the 
river  to  recapture  Baton  Rouge.  When  her  journey  was  but  half  completed, 
she  was  pounced  upon  by  several  United  States  vessels,  with  the  "  Essex  " 
in  the  lead.  Her  engines  breaking  down,  she  drifted  upon  a  sand-bank  ;  and 
the  attacking  ships  pounded  her  at  their  leisure,  until,  with  the  fire  bursting 
from  her  port-holes,  she  was  abandoned  by  her  crew,  and  blazed  away  until 
her  career  was  ended  by  the  explosion  of  her  magazine.  She  had  given  the 
Federal  fleet  some  hard  tussles,  but  beyond  that  had  done  nothing  of 
the  work  the  Confederates  so  fondly  hoped  of  her. 

While  the  flotilla  of  gunboats,  led  by  the  "  Essex,"  were  planning  for  the 
destruction  of  the  "Arkansas,"  a  small  naval  expedition,  consisting  of  three 
gunboats,  was  threading  its  way  up  the  narrow  channel  of  the  White  River 
in  search  of  some  Confederate  batteries  said  to  be  on  the  banks.  Within 
twelve  hours  from  the  start,  the  sailors  learned  from  a  ragged  negro,  whom 


252  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


they  captured  on  the  shore,  that  the  Confederates  had  powerful  batteries 
only  five  miles  farther  up,  and  that  the  river  channel  was  obstructed  by 
sunken  vessels.  Anchor  was  cast  for  the  night ;  and  in  the  morning  the 
troops  accompanying  the  expedition  were  landed,  and  plunged  into  the  forest 
with  the  plan  of  taking  the  fort  by  a  rush  from  the  rear.  The  gunboats 
began  a  slow  advance  up  the  river,  throwing  shells  into  the  woods  ahead  of 
them.  The  blue-jackets  kept  carefully  under  cover  ;  for,  though  they  could 
see  no  foe,  yet  the  constant  singing  of  rifle-bullets  about  the  ships  proved 
that  somewhere  in  those  bushes  were  concealed  sharp-shooters  whose  pow- 
der was  good  and  whose  aim  was  true.  The  "  Mound  City "  was  leading 
the  gunboats,  and  had  advanced  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's 
guns,  when  a  single  shot,  fired  from  a  masked  battery  high  up  the  bluffs, 
rang  out  sharply  amid  the  rattle  of  small-arms.  It  was  the  first  cannon-shot 
fired  by  the  Confederates  in  that  engagement,  and  it  was  probably  the  most 
horribly  deadly  shot  fired  in  the  war.  It  entered  the  port-casemate  forward, 
killed  three  men  standing  at  the  gun,  and  plunged  into  the  boiler.  In  an 
instant  the  scalding  steam  came  hissing  out,  filling  the  ship  from  stem  to 
stern,  and  horribly  scalding  every  one  upon  the  gun-deck.  The  deck 
was  covered  with  writhing  forms,  and  screams  of  agony  rang  out  above 
the  harsh  noise  of  the  escaping  steam  and  the  roar  of  battle  outside. 
Many  were  blown  overboard ;  more  crawled  out  of  the  port-holes,  and 
dropped  into  the  river  to  escape  the  scalding  steam,  and  struggling  in 
the  water  were  killed  by  rifle-balls  or  the  fragments  of  the  shells  that 
were  bursting  all  around.  The  helpless  gunboat  turned  round  and  round 
in  the  stream,  and  drifted  away,  carrying  a  crew  of  dead  and  dying 
men.  So  great  was  the  horror  of  the  scene,  that  one  of  the  officers, 
himself  unhurt,  who  saw  his  comrades  thus  tortured  all  about  him,  went 
insane. 

While  this  scene  was  going  on  before  the  fort,  the  Union  troops  had 
come  up  behind  it,  and  with  a  cheer  rushed  over  the  breastworks,  and  drove 
the  garrison  to  surrender.  The  Confederate  banner  fell  from  the  staff, 
and  the  stars  and  stripes  went  up  in  its  place.  But  how  great  was  the 
price  that  the  Federals  had  to  pay  for  that  victory !  That  night,  with 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


253 


muffled  drums,  and  arms  reversed,  the  blue-jackets  carried  to  the  grave 
fifty-nine  of  their  comrades,  who  twelve  hours  before  were  active  men. 
With  three  volleys  of  musketry  the  simple  rites  over  the  sailors'  graves 
were  ended  ;  and  those  who  were  left  alive,  only  said  with  a  sigh,  "It  is  the 
fortune  of  war." 


CHAPTER   XV. 


ON  TO  VICKSBURG.  — BOMBARDMENT  OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  STRONGHOLD.  —  PORTER'S 

CRUISE  IN  THE  FORESTS. 

HILE  the  smaller  gunboats  were  thus  making  dashes  into  the 
enemy's  country,  destroying  batteries  and  unfinished  war-vessels, 
and  burning  salt-works,  the  heavier  vessels  of  the  fleet  were 
being  massed  about  Vicksburg,  and  were  preparing  to  aid  the 
army  in  reducing  that  city  to  subjection.  We  need  not  describe  the  way 
in  which  Gen.  Grant  had  been  rushing  his  troops  toward  that  point,  how 
for  weeks  his  engineers  had  been  planning  trenches  and  approaches  to  the 
Confederate  works,  until  toward  the  middle  part  of  June,  1863,  the  people 
in  that  city  found  themselves  hemmed  in  by  a  huge  girdle  of  trenches, 
batteries,  and  military  camps.  Gen.  Pemberton,  with  his  army  of  Confeder- 
ate soldiers,  had  been  forced  backward  from  point  after  point,  until  at  last 
he  found  himself  in  Vicksburg,  with  the  prospect  of  a  long  siege  before 
him,  and  no  way  to  get  past  the  inexorable  lines  of  blue  that  surrounded 
him.  It  is  true  that  he  had  a  wonderfully  strong  position,  and  many  were 
the  tongues  that  said  Vicksburg  could  never  be  taken.  But  though 
stronger  than  Sebastopol,  stronger  than  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar,  Vicksburg 
was  destined  to  fall  before  that  mighty  army  that  encircled  it,  and  was 
slowly  starving  the  city  into  subjection. 
254 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  255 

But  the  Union  soldiers,  looking  from  their  camps  toward  the  Confederate 
citadel,  saw  that  they  had  before  them  some  severe  work  before  that  flag 
that  flaunted  over  the  city  should  be  replaced  by  the  stars  and  stripes. 
The  city  stands  on  a  towering  bluff  high  above  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Mississippi  River.  On  that  frowning  height  the  busy  hands  of  Pem- 
berton's  soldiers  had  reared  mighty  batteries,  that  commanded  the  Missis- 
sippi for  miles  up  and  down  stream.  To  think  of  carrying  the  works  by 
assault,  was  madness.  Sherman  had  tried,  and  was  beaten  back  with 
terrible  loss.  Then  Grant,  with  nearly  twenty  thousand  men,  and  with  the 
co-operation  of  the  river-flotilla,  came  upon  the  stage,  and  determined  to 
take  the  city  though  it  kept  him  at  bay  for  months. 

All  imaginable  plans  were  tried  to  get  the  army  below  the  city ;  for 
Grant's  command  had  come  down  from  Cairo,  and  were  at  the  northern 
and  most  impregnable  side  of  the  enemy's  works.  As  at  Island  No.  10, 
a  sharp  bend  in  the  river  made  a  long  peninsula  right  under  the  Con- 
federates' guns.  Grant,  remembering  the  plan  adopted  before,  set  to  work 
to  cut  a  canal  through  the  peninsula,  so  that  the  gunboats  and  transports 
might  get  below  the  forts.  Twelve  hundred  negroes  worked  with  a  will 
upon  this  ditch  for  weeks.  Then  came  a  terrible  rain-storm  :  the  swollen, 
muddy  torrent  of  the  river  broke  in  upon  the  unfinished  canal,  and  that 
work  was  wasted.  Then  a  new  plan  was  suggested,  this  time  by  Com- 
modore David  Porter,  who  all  through  the  war  showed  the  greatest  delight 
in  taking  his  big  gunboats  into  ditches  where  nothing  larger  than  a  frog  or 
musk-rat  could  hope  to  navigate,  and  then  bringing  them  out  again  safe 
after  all. 

The  country  back  of  Vicksburg  was  fairly  honeycombed  with  shallow 
lakes,  creeks,  and  those  sluggish  black  streams  called  in  the  South  bayous. 
Porter  had  been  looking  over  this  aqueous  territory  for  some  time,  and  had 
sent  one  of  his  lieutenants  off  in  a  steam-launch  to  see  what  could  be  done 
in  that  network  of  ditches.  When  the  explorer  returned,  he  brought  cheer- 
ing news.  He  was  confident  that,  with  tugs  and  gangs  of  axemen  clearing 
the  way,  the  gunboats  could  be  taken  up  the  Yazoo  River,  then  into  a 
wide  bayou,  and  finally  through  a  maze  of  small  water-ways,  until  they 


256  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

should  reach  the  Mississippi  again  below  the  Vicksburg  batteries.  Then 
the  transports  could  follow,  the  troops  could  march  down  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  be  met  by  the  transports,  ferried  across,  and  take  Vicksburg 
on  the  flank.  It  was  a  beautiful  plan  ;  and  Porter  went  to  Grant  with  it, 
full  of  enthusiasm. 

Gen.  Grant  considered  the  matter  for  some  time,  but  finally  gave  his 
consent,  and  detailed  a  number  of  blue-coated  soldiers  to  aid  Porter's  blue- 
jackets in  the  work.  They  first  cut  the  levees,  and  let  the  mighty  tide 
of  the  Mississippi  sweep  in,  filling  the  bayous  to  the  brim,  and  flooding  all 
the  country  round  about.  Then  the  gunboats  plunged  in,  and  were  borne 
along  on  the  rushing  tide  until  they  brought  up,  all  standing,  against  the 
trunks  of  trees,  or  had  their  smoke-stacks  caught  by  overhanging  branches. 

Then  came  the  tug  of  war ;  and  the  axemen  were  called  to  the  front, 
and  set  to  work.  They  chopped  their  way  along  for  some  distance ;  the 
rapid  current  from  the  river  banging  the  vessels  against  the  trees  and 
stumps,  until  all  the  standing  rigging  and  light  cabins  were  swept  away. 
After  a  good  deal  of  work  they  saw  before  them  a  broad  river,  wide  enough 
for  two  vessels  to  steam  abreast.  Soon  they  drifted  out  into  it,  and  the 
commanding  officer  sang  out  cheerily,  "  On  to  Vicksburg,  boys,  and  no 
more  trees  to  saw."  And  so  they  steamed  on,  thinking  how  neatly  they 
should  take  the  "  gray-coats  "  in  the  rear,  when  suddenly  a  bend  in  the 
river  showed  them,  just  ahead,  a  fort  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  with 
the  channel  blocked  on  either  side.  That  was  a  surprise.  The  works  were 
new,  and  the  water  was  still  muddy  about  the  sunken  steamers.  Clearly 
the  wily  Pemberton  had  heard  of  this  inland  naval  expedition,  and  was 
determined  to  check  it  effectually. 

The  gunboats  backed  water,  and  crowded  in  confused  groups.  The 
gunners  in  the  fort  took  hurried  aim,  and  pulled  the  lanyards  of  their 
cannon,  forgetting  that  those  pieces  were  not  loaded.  It  was  hard  to  tell 
which  party  was  the  more  excited  at  the  unexpected  meeting.  This  gave 
the  blue-jackets  a  chance  to  collect  their  thoughts,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  the 
gunboats  opened  fire;  but  they  were  soon  convinced  that  the  fort  was 
too  much  for  them,  and  they  turned  and  crawled  back  through  the  woods 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  257 


to  the  fleet  above  Vicksburg.  Pemberton  scored  one  point  for  successful 
strategy. 

But,  even  while  this  expedition  was  working  its  way  back  to  the  station 
of  the  vessels  on  the  Mississippi,  Porter  was  starting  another  through  a 
second  chain  of  water-courses  that  he  had  discovered.  This  time  he  was 
so  sure  of  getting  into  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  that  he  took  four  of  his  big 
iron-clads,  and  two  light  mortar-boats  built  especially  for  work  in  the  woods. 
Gen.  Sherman,  with  a  strong  army-force,  marched  overland,  keeping  up  with 
the  gunboats.  Admiral  Porter,  in  his  Memoirs,  gives  a  graphic  picture  of 
this  expedition.  Back  of  Vicksburg  the  country  is  low,  and  intersected 
in  every  direction  by  narrow,  tortuous  bayous,  lined  on  either  side  by 
gloomy  morasses  or  majestic  forests.  Into  these  little-known  water- 
courses Porter  boldly  led  his  ponderous  iron-clads  ;  while  Sherman,  with  a 
detachment  of  troops,  advanced  along  the  shore,  keeping  as  near  the 
flotilla  as  possible.  Seldom  have  naval  vessels  been  detailed  upon  so 
strange  a  service.  For  days  they  steamed  on  under  the  spreading 
branches  of  trees,  that  often  spanned  the  bayous  in  a  mighty  arch  over- 
head, shutting  out  all  sunlight.  For  a  time  this  navigation  of  placid, 
shady  water-ways  was  pleasant  enough  ;  but,  as  they  penetrated  farther 
into  the  interior,  the  jackies  sighed  for  the  blue  waters  of  the  ocean,  or 
even  for  the  turbid  current  of  the  Mississippi.  The  heavy  foliage  that 
gave  so  grateful  a  shade  also  harbored  all  sorts  of  animals ;  and  coons, 
rats,  mice,  and  wildcats,  that  had  been  driven  to  the  trees  for  shelter 
during  the  prevailing  high  water,  peered  down  upon  the  sailors,  and  often 
dropped  sociably  down  upon  the  decks  of  the  vessels  gliding  beneath. 

At  some  portions  of  the  voyage  the  flotilla  seemed  to  be  steaming 
through  the  primeval  forest.  The  bayou  was  but  a  few  feet  wider  than 
the  gunboats,  and  its  banks  were  lined  by  gnarled  and  knotted  old 
veterans  of  the  forest, — live  oaks,  sycamore,  and  tupelo  gum  trees  that 
had  stood  in  majestic  dignity  on  the  banks  of  the  dark  and  sullen  stream 
for  centuries.  Sometimes  majestic  vistas  would  open  ;  broad  avenues 
carpeted  with  velvet  turf,  and  walled  in  by  the  massive  tree  trunks, 
extending  from  the  banks  of  the  stream  far  back  into  the  country. 


258  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 

Again,  the  stately  forests  would  be  replaced  by  fields  of  waving  corn  or 
rice,  with  the  tops  of  a  row  of  negro  cabins  or  the  columned  front  of  a 
planter's  house  showing  in  the  distance.  Then,  as  the  flotilla  steamed  on, 
this  fair  prospect  would  disappear,  and  be  replaced  by  noisome  cypress 
brakes,  hung  thick  with  the  funereal  Spanish  moss,  and  harboring  beneath 
the  black  water  many  a  noxious  reptile. 

So  through  the  ever-changing  scenery  the  gunboats  moved  along, 
making  but  little  progress,  but  meeting  with  no  serious  obstacle,  until 
one  morning  there  appeared  on  a  bit  of  high  ground,  some  yards  in 
advance  of  the  leading  gunboat,  an  army  officer  mounted  on  an  old  white 
horse.  It  was  Gen.  Sherman,  and  his  troops  were  in  camp  near  by.  He 
greeted  the  naval  forces  cheerily,  and,  rallying  Porter  on  the  amphibious 
service  into  which  his  gunboats  had  been  forced,  warned  him  that  he 
would  soon  have  not  a  smoke-stack  standing,  nor  a  boat  left  at  the  davits. 

"  So  much  the  better,"  said  the  undaunted  admiral.  "  All  I  want  is 
an  engine,  guns,  and  a  hull  to  float  them.  As  to  boats,  they  are  very 
much  in  the  way." 

A  short  time  only  was  spent  in  consultation,  and  then  Sherman  with 
his  forces  left  the  bayou  and  plunged  into  the  interior,  first  warning 
Porter  that  he  would  have  a  hard  time  getting  any  farther,  even  if  the 
enemy  did  not  come  down  and  surround  him.  But  Porter  was  not 
the  man  to  abandon  the  advance,  so  long  as  there  was  water  enough  to 
float  his  gunboats.  Besides,  he  had  gained  some  ideas  regarding  naviga- 
tion in  the  forests,  that  enabled  him  to  move  his  fleet  forward  with  more 
celerity  than  at  first.  When  a  tree  blocked  the  course  of  the  iron-clads, 
they  no  longer  stopped  to  clear  it  away  by  work  with  the  axes  ;  but, 
clapping  on  all  steam,  the  powerful  rams  dashed  at  the  woody  obstruction, 
and  with  repeated  blows  soon  knocked  it  out  of  the  way. 

Soon  after  leaving  Sherman,  Porter  saw  that  the  difficulties  he  had 
thus  far  met  and  conquered  were  as  nothing  to  those  which  he  had  yet 
to  encounter.  The  comparatively  broad  stream  up  which  he  had  been 
steaming  came  to  an  end,  and  his  further  progress  must  be  through 
Cypress  Bayou,  a  canal  just  forty-six  feet  wide.  The  broadest  gunboat 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  259 


was  forty-two  feet  wide,  and  to  enter  that  narrow  stream  made  retreat 
out  of  the  question  :  there  could  be  no  turning  round  to  fly.  The  levees 
rose  on  either  side  of  the  narrow  canal  high  above  the  decks  of  the  iron- 
clads, so  that  the  cannon  could  not  be  sufficiently  elevated  to  do  effective 
work  in  case  of  an  attack.  But.  there  were  nine  feet  of  water  in  the  great 
ditch ;  and  that  was  enough  for  Porter,  who  pressed  boldly  on. 

The  country  into  which  the  combined  military  and  naval  expedition 
was  advancing  was  in  truth  the  granary  of  Vicksburg.  On  all  other 
sides  of  the  beleaguered  city,  the  Federal  lines  were  drawn  so  closely  that 
the  wagons  laden  with  farm  produce  could  not  hope  to  pass.  But  here, 
back  of  the  city,  and  far  from  the  camps  of  Grant's  legions,  the  work 
of  raising  produce  for  the  gallant  people  of  Vicksburg  was  prosecuted 
with  the  most  untiring  vigor.  The  sight,  then,  of  the  advancing  gun- 
boats aroused  the  greatest  consternation.  From  the  deck  of  his  vessel 
Porter  could  see  the  people  striving  to  save  their  property  from  the 
advancing  enemy.  Great  droves  of  cattle  were  being  driven  away  far 
into  the  interior ;  negroes  were  skurrying  in  all  directions,  driving  poultry 
and  pigs  to  the  safe  concealment  of  the  forest ;  wagons  groaning  under 
the  weight  of  farm  and  garden  produce  could  be  seen  disappearing  in 
the  distance.  What  the  inhabitants  could  not  save  they  destroyed, 
in  order  that  it  might  not  profit  the  invaders.  A  short  distance  from 
the  mouth  of  the  bayou  were  six  thousand  bales  of  cotton  piled  up  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  stream,  ready  to  be  taken  aboard  a  steamer  when 
the  war  should  end.  As  the  gunboats  advanced  slowly,  making  little 
headway  against  the  two-knot  current  of  the  bayou,  Porter  saw  two  men, 
carrying  lighted  pine-knots,  dash  up  to  the  cotton,  and  begin  to  set  it 
afire.  The  admiral  looked  on  in  disgust.  "'What  fools  these  mortals 
be!'"  said  he  to  an  officer  standing  at  his  side;  "but  I  suppose  those 
men  have  a  right  to  burn  their  own  cotton,  especially  as  we  have  no  way 
of  preventing  them." 

"I  can  send  a  howitzer  shell  at  them,  sir,"  said  the  officer,  "and 
drive  them  away." 

But  to  this  Porter  demurred,  saying  that  he  had  no  desire  to  kill  the 


260  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


men,  and  that  they  might  do  as  they  liked  with  their  own.  Accordingly 
the  officers  quietly  watched  the  vandals,  until,  after  twenty  minutes' 
work,  the  cotton  was  blazing,  and  a  dense  mass  of  smoke  cut  off  all 
vision  ahead,  and  rose  high  in  the  air.  Then  Porter  began  to  suspect 
that  he  had  made  a  mistake.  The  difficulties  of  navigation  in  the  bayou 
were  great  enough,  without  having  smoke  and  fire  added  to  them.  Yet 
to  wait  for  the  cotton  to  burn  up  might  cause  a  serious  delay.  On  the 
high  bank  of  the  bayou  stood  a  negro  begging  the  sailors  to  take  him 
aboard. 

"  Hallo,  there,  Sambo ! "  sung  put  Porter,  "  how  long  will  it  take  this 
cotton  to  burn  up  ? " 

"Two  day,  massa,"  responded  the  contraband;  "p'raps  tree." 
That  ended  the  debate.  "  Ring  the  bell  to  go  ahead  fast,"  said  the 
admiral  to  the  pilot ;  and  away  went  the  flotilla  at  full  speed,  plunging 
into  the  smoke  and  fire.  It  was  a  hot  experience  for  the  sailors.  The 
heavy  iron-clads  made  but  slow  progress,  and  were  scorched  and  blis- 
tered with  the  heat.  The  ports  were  all  shut  down,  and  the  crews  called 
to  fire-quarters,  buckets  in  hand.  To  remain  on  deck,  was  impossible. 
Porter  and  his  captain  made  the  trial,  but  had  hardly  entered  the  smoke 
when  the  scorching  heat  drove  both  into  the  shelter  of  an  iron-covered 
deck-house.  The  pilot  standing  at  the  wheel  seized  a  flag,  and,  wrapping 
it  about  his  face  and  body,  was  able  to  stay  at  his  post.  As  the  flames 
grew  hotter,  the  sailors  below  opened  the  main  hatch,  and,  thrusting  up 
a  hose,  deluged  the  deck  with  floods  of  water.  So,  without  a  man  in 
sight,  the  huge  iron  ship  moved  along  between  the  walls  of  flame.  Sud- 
denly came  an  enormous  crash.  The  gunboat  shivered,  and  for  a  moment 
stood  still ;  then,  gathering  headway,  moved  on  again,  though  with  much 
ominous  grating  beneath  her  keel.  Soon  after  she  passed  out  of  the 
smoke  and  heat,  and  all  hands  rushed  on  deck  for  a  whiff  of  the  fresh, 
cool  air.  Their  first  thought  was  of  the  cause  of  the  collision  ;  and,  look- 
ing eagerly  astern,  they  saw  a  heavy  bridge,  about  fifty  feet  of  which  had 
been  demolished  by  the  tremendous  power  of  the  ram.  This  gave  Porter 
a  hint  as  to  the  force  he  had  at  his  command ;  and  thereafter  bridges 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  261 


were  rammed  as  a  matter  of  course  whenever  they  impeded  the  progress 
of  the  iron-clads.  The  astonishment  of  the  people  along  the  shore  may 
well  be  imagined. 

The  great  and  formidable  obstacles  that  stood  in  the  path  of  the 
squadron  were,  as  a  rule,  overcome  by  the  exertion  of  the  great  powers  of 
the  steam-driven,  iron-plated  vessels  ;  but  at  last  there  came  a  check,  that, 
though  it  seemed  at  first  insignificant,  terminated  the  sylvan  manoeuvres 
of  the  iron-clad  navy.  After  running  the  gantlet  of  the  burning  cotton, 
butting  down  trees,  and  smashing  through  bridges,  the  column  entered 
a  stretch  of  smooth  water  that  seemed  to  promise  fair  and  unobstructed 
sailing.  But  toward  the  end  of  this  expanse  of  water  a  kind  of  green 
scum  was  evident,  extending  right  across  the  bayou,  from  bank  to  bank. 
Porter's  keen  eye  caught  sight  of  this  ;  and,  turning  to  one  of  the  negroes 
who  had  taken  refuge  on  the  gunboat,  he  asked  what  it  was.  "  It's 
nuffin'  but  willows,  sah,"  he  replied.  "When  de  water's  out  of  de  bayou, 
den  we  cuts  de  willows  to  make  baskets  with.  You  kin  go  troo  dat  like 
a  eel." 

Satisfied  with  this  explanation,  the  admiral  ordered  the  tug  which 
led  the  column  to  go  ahead.  Under  a  full  head  of  steam,  the  tug  dashed 
into  the  willows,  but  began  to  slow  up,  until,  after  going  about  thirty 
yards,  she  stopped,  unable  to  go  forward  or  back.  Undaunted  by  this 
unexpected  resistance,  Porter  cried  out  that  the  "  Cincinnati  "  would  push 
the  tug  along ;  and  the  heavy  gunboat,  withdrawing  a  short  distance 
to  gain  headway,  hurled  herself  forward,  and  dashed  into  the  willows 
with  a  force  that  would  have  carried  her  through  any  bridge  ever  built. 
But  the  old  fable  of  the  lion  bound  down  by  the  silken  net  was  here 
re-enacted.  The  gunboat  did  not  even  reach  the  tug.  The  slender 
willow-shoots  trailed  along  the  sides,  caught  in  the  rough  ends  of  the 
iron  overhang,  and  held  the  vessel  immovable.  Abandoning  the  attempt 
to  advance,  the  gunboat  strove  to  back  out,  but  to  no  avail.  Then  hooks 
were  rigged  over  the  side  to  break  away  the  withes,  and  men  slung  in 
ropes  alongside  vigorously  wielded  sharp  cutlasses  and  saws ;  but  still 
the  willows  retained  their  grip.  Matters  were  now  getting  serious ;  and, 


262  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


to  add  to  Porter's  perplexity,  reports  came  in  that  Confederate  troops 
were  coming  down  upon  him.  Then  he  began  to  lose  confidence  in  his 
iron-clads,  and  wish  right  heartily  for  Sherman  and  his  soldiers,  of  whose 
whereabouts  he  could  gain  no  knowledge.  The  enemy  did  not  leave  him 
long  in  doubts  as  to  their  intention,  and  soon  began  a  vigorous  fire  of 
shells  from  the  woods.  Porter  stopped  that  promptly  by  manning  his 
mortars  and  firing  a  few  shells  at  a  range  measured  by  the  sound  of  the 
enemy's  cannon.  The  immediate  silence  of  the  hostile  batteries  proved 
the  accuracy  of  the  admiral's  calculations,  and  gave  him  time  to  devise 
means  for  escaping  from  his  perilous  position. 

How  to  do  it  without  aid  from  Sherman's  troops,  was  a  difficult  ques- 
tion ;  and  in  his  perplexity  he  exclaimed  aloud,  "  Why  don't  Sherman 
come  on  ?  I'd  give  ten  dollars  to  get  a  telegram  to  him."  The  admiral 
was  standing  at  the  moment  on  the  bank  of  the  bayou,  near  a  group  of 
negroes  ;  and  an  athletic-looking  contraband  stepped  forward,  and,  announ- 
cing himself  as  a  "  telegram-wire,"  offered  to  carry  the  note  "  to  kingdum 
kum  for  half  a  dollar."  After  sharply  cross-questioning  the  volunteer, 
Porter  wrote  on  a  scrap  of  paper,  "  DEAR  SHERMAN,  —  Hurry  up,  for 
Heaven's  sake.  I  never  knew  how  helpless  an  iron-clad  could  be,  steam- 
ing around  through  the  woods  without  an  army  to  back  her." 

"Where  will  you  carry  this?"  asked  Porter,  handing  the  despatch  to 
the  negro. 

"  In  my  calabash  kiver,  massa,"  responded  the  messenger  with  a  grin ; 
and,  stowing  the  paper  away  in  his  woolly  hair,  he  darted  away. 

The  telegram  being  thus  despatched,  Porter  again  turned  his  attention 
to  the  willows ;  and,  a  fortunate  rise  in  the  water  having  occurred,  he  was 
able  to  extricate  his  vessels  and  begin  his  retreat  down  the  bayou.  He 
was  somewhat  perplexed  by  the  silence  of  the  Confederates,  from  whom 
he  had  heard  nothing  since  his  mortars  silenced  their  masked  batteries. 
The  conundrum  was  solved  by  the  sound  of  wood-chopping  in  the  forests 
ahead,  and  the  discovery  shortly  after  of  two  heavy  logs  lying  athwart 
the  bayou,  and  stopping  the  progress  of  the  vessels.  An  hour's  hard 
work  with  axe  and  saw  removed  this  obstruction ;  and  the  tug,  slipping 


PORTERS  FLOTILLA   ON   THE   RED  RIVER. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  265 


through  first,  shot  ahead  to  prevent  any  more  tree-felling.  The  loud 
reports  of  her  howitzer  soon  carried  back  to  the  fleet  the  news  that  she 
had  come  up  with  the  enemy,  and  was  disputing  with  them  the  right  to 
the  bayou. 

The  difficulties  of  the  retreat  were  no  less  great  than  those  of  the 
advance,  with  the  intermittent  attacks  of  the  enemy  added.  The  work  of 
removing  heavy,  soggy  logs,  half  submerged  beneath  the  black  waters 
of  the  bayou,  clearing  away  standing  trees,  and  breaking  up  and  removing 
Red-river  rafts,  wearied  the  sailors,  and  left  them  little  spirit  to  meet  the 
enemy's  attacks.  The  faint  sounds  of  wood-chopping  in  the  distance 
told  too  well  of  the  additional  impediments  yet  in  store  for  the  adven- 
turous mariners.  Scouts  sent  out  reported  that  the  enemy  had  impressed 
great  gangs  of  negroes,  and  were  forcing  them  to  do  the  work  of  felling 
the  trees  that  were  to  hem  in  Uncle  Sam's  gunboats,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  C.S.A.  But  the  plans  of  the  Confederates  to  this  end  were  easily 
defeated.  Porter  had  not  only  many  willing  arms  at  his  command,  but 
the  powerful  aid  of  steam.  When  the  gunboats  came  to  a  tree  lying 
across  the  bayou,  a  landing  party  went  ashore  and  fastened  large  pulleys 
to  a  tree  on  the  bank.  Then  a  rope  was  passed  through  the  block ; 
and  one  end  having  been  made  fast  to  the  fallen  tree,  the  other  was  taken 
aboard  a  gunboat.  The  word  was  then  given,  "  Back  the  iron-clad  hard  ; " 
and  the  fallen  monarch  of  the  forest  was  soon  dragged  across  the  bayou 
and  out  of  the  way.  So  expert  did  the  jackies  become  in  this  work, 
that  they  were  soon  able  to  clear  away  the  trees  faster  than  the  enemy 
could  fell  them.  The  tug  then  went  ahead,  and  for  a  time  put  an  end 
to  further  tree-chopping,  and  captured  several  of  the  negro  axemen. 

From  the  captured  contrabands  Porter  learned  that  the  attempt  to  cut 
off  his  retreat  was  directed  by  the  military  authorities  at  Vicksburg.  This 
was  a  startling  revelation.  He  had  thought  that  the  Confederates  were 
in  entire  ignorance  of  his  movement ;  and  now  it  turned  out  that  the 
wily  Pemberton  had  kept  a  sharp  lookout  on  the  marauding  gunboats,  and 
was  shrewdly  planning  for  their  capture.  While  Porter  was  pondering 
over  this  new  discovery,  a  party  of  scouts  came  in,  bringing  in  four 


266  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 


captured  Confederates,  two  of  whom  were  commissioned  officers.  The 
commanding  officer,  a  mere  boy,  was  somewhat  chagrined  at  being 
captured,  but  felt  confident  that  his  friends  would  recapture  him  shortly. 
Porter  politely  asked  him  to  take  a  glass  of  wine  and  -some  supper. 

"  I  don't  care  if  I  do,"  responded  the  youngster ;  "  and  I  have  the  less 
compunction  in  taking  it,  as  it  belongs  to  us  anyhow.  In  two  hours  you 
will  be  surrounded  and  bagged.  You  can't  escape.  How  in  the  Devil's 
name  you  ever  got  here,  is  a  wonder  to  me." 

Porter  smiled  pleasantly,  and,  helping  his  guests  lavishly,  proceeded  to 
question  them  on  the  numbers  and  position  of  the  Confederate  troops. 
He  learned  that  a  large  body  of  troops  had  been  sent  out  to  surround 
the  iron-clads,  and  were  even  then  closing  in  upon  the  intruders.  The 
danger  was  imminent,  but  Porter  showed  no  trepidation. 

"  How  far  off  are  your  troops  ? "  he  asked. 

"About  four  miles.  They  will  bag  you  at  daylight,"  was  the  confident 
response. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,"  said  the  admiral,  "  Gen.  Sherman  is  now  surround- 
ing your  forces  with  ten  thousand  men,  and  will  capture  them  all  before 
daylight."  And  so  saying  the  admiral  went  on  deck,  leaving  his  captives 
lost  in  wonder ;  for  the  information  carried  to  the  Vicksburg  authorities 
had  made  no  mention  of  troops. 

Though  Porter  had  put  on  so  bold  a  front  before  his  captives,  he  really 
felt  much  anxiety  for  the  fate  of  his  iron-clads.  He  could  hear  nothing 
from  Sherman,  who  might  be  thirty  miles  away  for  all  he  knew.  Accord- 
ingly he  retraced  his  course  for  a  few  miles,  to  throw  the  enemy  off  the 
scent,  and  the  next  day  began  again  his  descent  of  the  bayou,  bumping 
along  stern  foremost  amid  snags  and  standing  trees.  The  enemy  soon 
gave  evidence  that  he  was  on  the  watch,  and  opened  fire  with  his  artillery 
from  the  rear.  At  this  one  gunboat  steamed  back  and  silenced  the  artillery 
for  a  time,  after  which  she  rejoined  her  fellows.  Sharp-shooters  in  the 
thickets  along  the  levee  then  began  to  grow  troublesome ;  and  the  whistle 
of  the  rifle-balls,  with  an  occasional  ping  as  one  struck  the  smoke-stack, 
warned  the  sailors  that  the  deck  of  a  gunboat  in  a  narrow  canal  was  no 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  267 


safe  place  in  time  of  war.  The  high  levees  on  either  side  of  the  bayou 
made  it  impossible  to  use  the  guns  properly  :  so  Porter  turned  them  into 
mortars,  and,  by  using  very  small  charges  of  powder,  pitched  shells  up 
into  the  air,  dropping  them  into  the  bushes  back  of  the  levee.  This 
somewhat  checked  the  fire  of  the  sharp-shooters,  but  the  decks  were 
still  dangerous  places  to  frequent.  A  rifle-ball  struck  Lieut.  Wells  in  the 
head  as  he  stood  talking  to  Porter ;  and  he  fell,  apparently  dead,  upon  the 
deck.  The  admiral  beckoned  an  officer  to  come  and  bear  away  the  body ; 
but  the  newcomer  was  also  hit,  and  fell  across  the  body  of  the  first. 
Porter  concluded  that  the  locality  was  getting  rather  hot,  and  gladly 
stepped  behind  a  heavy  plate  of  sheet-iron,  which  an  old  quartermaster 
brought  him  with  the  remark,  "There,  sir,  stand  behind  that.  They've 
fired  at  you  long  enough." 

From  behind  his  shield,  Porter  looked  out  anxiously  at  the  forces  by 
which  he  was  beleaguered.  He  could  see  clearly  that  the  Confederates 
were  increasing  in  numbers ;  and,  when  at  last  he  saw  a  long  gray  column 
come  sweeping  out  of  the  woods,  his  heart  failed  him,  and  for  a  moment 
he  thought  that  the  fate  of  his  flotilla  was  sealed.  But  at  that  very 
moment  deliverance  was  at  hand.  The  Confederates  were  seen  to  fall 
into  confusion,  waver,  and  give  way  before  a  thin  blue  line,  —  the  advance 
guard  of  Sherman's  troops.  '  The  negro  "telegram-wire"  had  proved 
faithful,  and  Sherman  had  come  on  to  the  rescue. 

That  ended  the  difficulties  of  the  flotilla.  The  enemy,  once  brought 
face  to  face  with  Sherman's  men,  departed  abruptly ;  and  soon  the  doughty 
general,  mounted  on  an  old  gray  horse,  came  riding  down  to  the  edge 
of  the  bayou,  for  a  word  with  Porter.  Seeing  the  admiral  on  the  deck  of 
his  gunboat,  he  shouted  out,  "  Hallo !  Porter,  what  did  you  get  into  such 
an  ugly  scrape  for  ?  So  much  for  you  navy  fellows  getting  out  of  your 
element.  Better  send  for  the  soldiers  always.  My  boys  will  put  you 
through.  Here's  your  little  nigger.  He  came  through  all  right,  and  I 
started  at  once.  Your  gunboats  are  enough  to  scare  the  crows :  they 
look  as  if  you  had  got  a  terrible  hammering." 

Somewhat    crestfallen,    Porter   remarked,    that    he    "  never   knew   what 


268  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

helpless  things  iron-clads  could  become  when  they  got  in  a  ditch,  and 
had  no  soldiers  about."  As  Sherman  declined  to  come  aboard,  Porter 
went  below  to  look  after  his  two  prisoners. 

"Well,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  as  he  entered  the  cabin,  "you  were  right. 
We  are  surrounded  by  troops." 

The  two  Confederates  were  greatly  exultant,  but  assured  Porter  that 
they  would  see  that  he  was  kindly  treated  when  taken  into  Vicksburg. 

"To  Vicksburg!"  said  he  with  mock  amazement.  "Who  said  any  thing 
of  Vicksburg  ? " 

"Why,  of  course  you'll  be  taken  there  as  a  prisoner,  now  that  our 
men  have  surrounded  you." 

"  Oh,  you  are  mistaken  there ! "  responded  Porter.  "  The  troops  by 
whom  I  am  surrounded  are  Sherman's  boys,  six  thousand  strong."  And 
at  this  news  the  chagrined  captives  subsided,  and  began  to  consider  the 
prospects  of  a  trip  to  the  North,  and  incarceration  in  one  of  the  military 
prisons. 

Sherman's  army  soon  came  up  in  force,  and  went  into  camp  along  the 
road  that  skirted  the  levee.  As  night  fell,  the  scene  took  on  a  wild  and 
picturesque  air.  In  the  narrow  bayou  lay  the  gunboats,  strung  out  in 
single  file  along  a  line  of  half  a  mile.  They  bore  many  signs  of  the 
hard  knocks  they  had  received  in  their  excursion  through  the  woods 
Boats,  davits,  steam-pipes,  and  every  thing  breakable  that  rose  above  the 
level  of  the  deck,  had  been  swept  away  by  the  overhanging  boughs,  or 
dashed  to  pieces  by  falling  trees.  The  smoke-stacks  and  wheel-houses 
were  riddled  by  the  bullets  of  the  Confederate  sharp-shooters.  The  decks 
were  covered  with  rubbish  of  all  kinds,  and  here  and  there  was  a  fissure 
that  told  of  the  bursting  of  some  Confederate  shell.  The  paint  was 
blistered,  and  peeling  off,  from  the  effects  of  the  cotton-fire  through  which 
the  fleet  had  dashed. 

On  the  shore  blazed  the  camp-fires  of  Sherman's  troops ;  and  about  the 
huge  flaming  piles  the  weary  soldiers  threw  themselves  down  to  catch  a 
moment's  rest,  while  the  company  cooks  prepared  the  evening  meal. 
Many  of  the  idle  soldiers  strolled  down  to  the  edge  of  the  bayou,  and, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  269 


forming  a  line  along  the  levee,  began  chaffing  the  sailors  on  the  ludicrous 
failure  of  their  attempt  to  perform  naval  evolutions  in  a  swamp. 

"What's  gone  with  your  boats,  Jack?"  sung  out  one  tall  fellow  in 
cavalry  garb.  "  Been  in  dry-dock  for  repairs  ?  " 

"  How  do  you  like  playing  mud-turtle  ? "  said  another.  "  Better  stick 
to  salt  water  after  this." 

"  Don't  go  bush-whacking  again,  unless  you  have  the  soldiers  with  you. 
You  look  as  if  your  mothers  didn't  know  you  were  out."  And  at  this  a  yell 
of  approval  went  up  all  along  the  line,  while  the  badgered  sailors  growled 
and  tried  to  make  sharp  retorts  to  the  stinging  ridicule  of  the  landsmen. 

So  ended  this  memorable  gunboat  expedition.  It  is  unparalleled  in 
the  history  of  warfare.  The  feats  performed  by  the  unwieldy  iron-clads 
in  the  narrow  bayous  gained  for  them,  from  Lincoln,  the  title  of  "web- 
footed"  gunboats.  They  had  traversed  shallow  and  tortuous  channels; 
they  had  cleared  their  path  of  trees,  snags,  and  even  bridges ;  they  had 
run  the  gantlet  of  flaming  cotton-bales  and  Confederate  bullets.  After 
meeting  and  overcoming  so  many  obstacles,  their  final  stoppage  by  a 
thicket  of  pitiful  willow-shoots  irritated  the  blue-jackets  and  their  com- 
mander extremely.  Porter  had  penetrated  so  far  into  the  Yazoo  country, 
that  he  could  see  how  great  damage  could  be  inflicted  upon  the  Con- 
federates, if  the  expedition  could  but  be  carried  out  successfully.  He  had 
definite  information  to  the  effect,  that,  at  Yazoo  City,  the  Confederates  had 
a  thriving  shipyard,  at  which  they  were  pressing  forward  the  construction 
of  steam-rams  with  which  to  sweep  the  Mississippi.  To  reach  that  point 
and  destroy  the  vessels,  would  have  been  a  service  thoroughly  in  accord 
with  his  tastes ;  but  the  willows  held  him  back.  However,  he  was  able 
to  console  himself  with  the  thought  that  the  rams  were  not  likely  to 
do  the  Confederates  any  immediate  service ;  for  a  truthful  contraband, 
brought  in  by  the  Union  scouts,  informed  the  admiral  that  "dey  has  no 
bottom  in,  no  sides  to  'em,  an'  no  top  on  to  'em,  sah ;  an'  dere  injines  is 
in  Richmon'." 

When  the  dangers  encountered  by  the  gunboats  during  this  expedition 
are  considered,  the  damage  sustained  seems  surprisingly  small.  Had  the 


270  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


Confederates  acted  promptly  and  vigorously,  the  intruders  would  never 
have  escaped  from  the  swamps  into  which  their  temerity  had  led  them. 
A  few  torpedoes,  judiciously  planted  in  the  muddy  bed  of  the  bayou, 
would  have  effectively  prevented  any  farther  advance.  More  than  once 
the  Confederates  posted  their  artillery  within  effective  range,  and  opened 
a  rapid  and  well-directed  fire  upon  the  gunboats,  but  erred  in  using 
explosive  shells  instead  of  solid  shot.  "  They  were  evidently  greenhorns," 
wrote  Porter,  exulting  over  his  narrow  escape,  "and  failed  to  understand 
that  we  were  iron-clad,  and  did  not  mind  btirsting-s\\e\\.  If  they  had 
used  solid  shot,  they  might  have  hurt  us."  The  infantry  forces  of  the 
enemy  were  ample  to  have  given  the  marauding  gunboats  a  vast  deal  of 
trouble,  if  the  Confederate  officers  had  been  enterprising,  and  had  seized 
upon  the  opportunities  afforded  them.  Night  after  night  the  flotilla  lay 
tied  up  in  the  centre  of  a  narrow  bayou,  with  the  levees  towering  so  high 
above  the  gunboats'  ports,  that  the  cannon  were  useless.  At  such  a  time, 
a  determined  assault  by  a  body  of  hostile  infantry  could  hardly  have  been 
resisted.  Such  an  attack  was  the  danger  which  Porter  most  feared 
throughout  the  expedition,  and  he  nightly  made  preparations  for  a  des- 
perate resistance.  The  widest  part  of  the  bayou  was  chosen  for  the 
anchorage,  in  order  that  a  strip  of  water  at  least  four  feet  wide  might 
separate  the  gunboats  from  the  shore.  The  sides  of  the  iron-clads  were 
then  greased,  and  the  guns  loaded  with  grape,  and  elevated  as  much  as 
possible.  Landing  parties  with  howitzers  were  sent  ashore,  and  posted  so 
as  to  enfilade  any  attacking  force ;  scouts  were  sent  out  in  all  directions ; 
and  the  crews  of  the  gunboats  slept  at  their  quarters  all  night,  ready  for 
action  at  the  first  alarm.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  even  these  elaborate 
precautions  could  have  saved  the  flotilla,  had  the  Confederates  brought 
one  regiment  to  the  assault.  However,  the  enemy  let  the  golden  moment 
pass ;  and,  after  suffering  the  agonies  of  suspense  for  several  days,  Porter 
at  last  saw  his  gunboa's  safely  anchored  by  the  side  of  Sherman's  pro- 
tecting regiments, 

Sherman  and  Porter  held  a  consultation  that  night,  and  concluded  that 
it  was  useless  to  try  to  get   around  Vicksburg  by  hauling  the  gunboats 


DUMMY  GUNBOAT  PASSING  FORTS  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  273 


through  the  woods ;  and  the  following  morning  the  flotilla  started  back 
to  the  Union  headquarters  on  the  Mississippi. 

Gen.  Grant  was  beginning  to  get  impatient.  Weeks  had  passed  away, 
and  there  were  still  no  gunboats  or  transports  below  the  Vicksburg  batteries 
to  aid  him  in  carrying  out  his  military  plans.  He  held  a  long  consultation 
with  Porter,  the  outcome  of  which  was  that  the  admiral  decided  to  run  his 
gunboats  and  transports  right  through  the  fire  of  the  Confederate  guns. 

But,  before  sending  a  vessel  through,  Porter  thought  that  he  would  test 
the  accuracy  of  the  Confederate  gunners  by  giving  them  a  dummy  to  fire 
at.  He  took  a  large  flat  boat,  and  built  it  up  with  logs  and  lumber  until  it 
looked  like  a  powerful  ram.  Two  huge  wheel-houses  towered  amidships, 
on  each  of  which  was  painted,  in  great,  staring  letters,  "  Deluded  Rebels, 
cave  in."  From  the  open  ports,  the  muzzles  of  what  appeared  to  be  heavy 
rifles  protruded ;  though  the  guns  that  seemed  so  formidable  were  really 
only  logs  of  wood.  Two  high  smoke-stacks,  built  of  empty  pork-barrels, 
rose  from  the  centre  of  this  strange  craft ;  and  at  the  bottom  of  each  stack 
was  an  iron  pot,  in  which  was  a  heap  of  tar  and  oakum  that  sent  forth  vol- 
umes of  black  smoke  when  lighted.  One  dark  night  the  fires  in  this  sham 
monster  were  lighted,  and  she  was  towed  down  to  the  Confederate  batteries, 
and  set  drifting  down  the  river.  She  was  quickly  discovered,  and  the  bat- 
teries on  the  bluffs  opened  on  her  with  a  roar.  There  was  nothing  about  the 
dummy  to  be  hurt,  however ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  sink  her.  So  she 
sailed  majestically  through  the  plunging  hail  of  solid  shot,  and  past  the 
terrible  batteries  that  were  thought  to  be  a  match  for  any  thing  afloat. 
The  Confederates  in  the  trenches  looked  at  each  other  in  astonishment  and 
dismay.  Word  was  sent  to  Gen.  Pemberton  that  a  powerful  Yankee  iron- 
clad had  passed  the  batteries  unhurt,  and  was  speeding  down  the  stream. 
The  General's  first  thought  was  of  a  gunboat,  the  "  Indianola,"  lately  cap- 
tured from  the  Federals,  and  now  being  converted  into  an  iron-clad  ram.  She 
must  be  saved  from  recapture,  even  if  it  should  be  necessary  to  destroy  her. 
Word  was  hurriedly  sent  down  the  river  that  a  formidable  ram  was  bearing 
down  upon  the  "Indianola;"  and,  if  the  latter  vessel  was  not  in  condition 
to  do  battle,  she  should  be  blown  up.  Accordingly,  while  the  dummy  ram, 


274  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 


caught  in  an  eddy  of  the  river,  was  whirling  helplessly  around  just  below 
Vicksburg,  the  Confederates  put  the  torch  to  their  new  war-vessel,  and  she 
was  soon  a  heap  of  ashes.  Porter's  little  joke  was  a  good  one  for  the  United 
States. 

But  all  the  time  that  the  Union  navy  was  making  these  futile  attempts 
to  get  the  better  of  the  wily  general  who  held  the  fort  at  Vicksburg,  a 
constant  bombardment  of  the  city  was  kept  up.  From  gunboats  and  land 
batteries,  shells  were  hurled  into  the  streets  of  the  town,  tearing  down 
houses,  killing  men,  women,  and  children,  and  driving  the  inhabitants  to 
their  cellars,  or  to  deep  caves  dug  in  the  hills.  The  fire  from  the  Union 
gunboats  was  most  destructive,  for  they  could  drop  down  to  an  advantageous 
point,  shell  the  city  until  tired,  then  steam  back  into  safety  again. 

Cave-digging  in  the  city  became  a  regular  business ;  and  caves  brought 
from  twenty  to  fifty  dollars,  according  to  their  size.  They  generally  con- 
sisted of  two  or  three  rooms,  and  people  lived  in  them  quite  cheerfully 
during  the  time  that  the  iron  hail  was  falling  in  the  city's  streets. 

A  Northern  woman,  who  was  pent  up  in  Vicksburg  during  the  siege, 
tells  graphically  the  story  of  the  bombardment :  — 

"  For  many  nights  we  have  had  but  little  sleep,  because  the  Federal 
gunboats  have  been  running  past  the  batteries.  The  uproar  when  this  is 
happening  is  phenomenal.  The  first  night  the  thundering  artillery  burst  the 
bars  of  sleep,  we  thought  it  an  attack  by  the  river.  To  get  into  garments, 
and  rush  up-stairs,  was  the  work  of  a  moment.  From  the  upper  gallery  we 
have  a  fine  view  of  the  river ;  and  soon  a  red  glare  lit  up  the  scene,  and 
showed  a  small  boat,  towing  two  large  barges,  gliding  by.  The  Confederates 
had  set  fire  to  a  house  near  the  bank.  Another  night,  eight  boats  ran  by, 
throwing  a  shower  of  shot ;  and  two  burning  houses  made  the  river  clear 
as  day.  One  of  the  batteries  has  a  remarkable  gun  they  call  'whistling 
Dick,'  because  of  the  screeching,  whistling  sound  it  gives ;  and  certainly  it 
does  sound  like  a  tortured  thing.  Added  to  all  this  is  the  indescribable 
Confederate  yell,  which  is  a  soul-harrowing  sound  to  hear.  I  have  gained 
respect  for  the  mechanism  of  the  human  ear,  which  stands  it  all  without 
injury.  The  streets  are  seldom  quiet  at  night :  even  the  dragging  about  of 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  275 


cannon  makes  a  din  in  these  echoing  gullies.  The  other  night  we  were  on 
the  gallery  till  the  last  of  the  eight  boats  got  by.  Next  day  a  friend  said 

to  H ,  '  It  was  a  wonder  you  didn't  have  your  heads  taken  off  last  night. 

I  passed,  and  saw  them  stretched  over  the  gallery ;  and  grape-shot  were 
whizzing  up  the  street  just  on  a  level  with  you.'  The  double  roar  of  bat- 
teries and  boats  was  so  great,  we  never  noticed  the  whizzing.  Yesterday 
the  '  Cincinnati '  attempted  to  go  by  in  daylight,  but  was  disabled  and  sunk. 
It  was  a  pitiful  sight :  we  could  not  see  the  finale,  though  we  saw  her 
rendered  helpless. 

"  Since  that  day  the  regular  siege  has  continued.  We  are  utterly  cut  off 
from  the  world,  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  fire.  Would  it  be  wise,  like  the 
scorpion,  to  sting  ourselves  to  death  ?  The  fiery  shower  of  shells  goes  on 

day  and  night.     H 's  occupation,  of  course,  is  gone,  his  office  closed. 

Every  man  has  to  carry  a  pass  in  his  pocket.  People  do  nothing  but  eat 
what  they  can  get,  sleep  when  they  can,  and  dodge  the  shells.  There  are 
three  intervals  when  the  shelling  stops,  —  either  for  the  guns  to  cool,  or  for 
the  gunners'  meals,  I  suppose, — about  eight  in  the  morning,  the  same  in 
the  evening,  and  at  noon.  In  that  time  we  have  to  both  prepare  and  eat 
ours.  Clothing  cannot  be  washed,  or  any  thing  else  done.  On  the  iQth 
and  22d,  when  the  assaults  were  made  on  the  lines,  I  watched  the  soldiers 
cooking  on  the  green  opposite.  The  half-spent  balls,  coming  all  the  way 
from  those  lines,  were  flying  so  thick  that  they  were  obliged  to  dodge  at 
every  turn.  At  all  the  caves  I  could  see  from  my  high  perch,  people  were 
sitting,  eating  their  poor  suppers  at  the  cave  doors,  ready  to  plunge  in  again. 
As  the  first  shell  again  flew,  they  dived ;  and  not  a  human  being  was  visible. 
The  sharp  crackle  of  the  musketry-firing  was  a  strong  contrast  to  the 
scream  of  the  bombs.  I  think  all  the  dogs  and  cats  must  be  killed  or 
starved  :  we  don't  see  any  more  pitiful  animals  prowling  around.  .  .  .  The 
cellar  is  so  damp  and  musty,  the  bedding  has  to  be  carried  out  and  laid  in 
the  sun  every  day,  with  the  forecast  that  it  may  be  demolished  at  any 
moment.  The  confinement  is  dreadful.  To  sit  and  listen  as  if  waiting  for 
death  in  a  horrible  manner,  would  drive  me  insane.  I  don't  know  what 
others  do,  but  we  read  when  I  am  not  scribbling  in  this.  H borrowed 


276  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 


somewhere  a  lot  of  Dickens's  novels,  and  we  re-read  them  by  the  dim  light 

in  the  cellar.  When  the  shelling  abates,  H goes  to  walk  about  a  little, 

or  get  the  '  Daily  Citizen,'  which  is  still  issuing  a  tiny  sheet  at  twenty-five 
and  fifty  cents  a  copy.  It  is,  of  course,  but  a  rehash  of  speculations  which 
amuses  a  half-hour.  To-day  he  heard,  while  out,  that  expert  swimmers  are 
crossing  the  Mississippi  on  logs  at  night,  to  bring  and  carry  news  to 
Johnston.  I  am  so  tired  of  corn-bread,  which  I  never  liked,  that  I  eat  it 
with  tears  in  my  eyes.  We  are  lucky  to  get  a  quart  of  milk  daily  from  a 
family  near,  who  have  a  cow  they  hourly  expect  to  be  killed.  I  send  five 
dollars  to  market  each  morning,  and  it  buys  a  small  piece  of  mule-meat. 
Rice  and  milk  is  my  main  food:  I  can't  eat  the  mule-meat.  We  boil  the 
rice,  and  eat  it  cold,  with  milk,  for  supper.  Martha  runs  the  gauntlet  to  buy 
the  meat  and  milk  once  a  day  in  a  perfect  terror.  The  shells  seem  to  have 
many  different  names.  I  hear  the  soldiers  say,  '  That's  a  mortar-shell. 
There  goes  a  Parrott.  That's  a  rifle-shell.'  They  are  all  equally  terrible. 
A  pair  of  chimney-swallows  have  built  in  the  parlor  chimney.  The  concus- 
sion of  the  house  often  sends  down  parts  of  their  nest,  which  they  patiently 
pick  up  and  re-ascend  with." 

Grant's  impassable  lines  about  the  beleaguered  city  soon  made  starva- 
tion more  to  be  feared  than  even  the  terrible  shells  from  the  cannon  of 
the  gunboats.  Necessaries  of  all  sorts  became  wofully  scarce  in  Vicks- 
burg.  Five  dollars  could  purchase  only  a  little  bit  of  mule's  flesh,  hardl) 
enough  for  a  meal  for  two  people.  Flour  was  not  to  be  had  at  any  price. 
Bread  was  made  of  coarse  corn-meal  or  grated  peas.  The  ammunition  of 
the  soldiers  in  the  trenches  soon  began  to  give  out,  and  the  utmost  economy 
was  exercised.  Many  of  the  soldiers  were  armed  with  muskets  that 
required  caps,  and  it  was  not  many  days  before  caps  were  at  a  great 
premium.  They  were  generally  smuggled  into  the  city  through  the  Union 
lines  by  fleet-footed  carriers,  who  ran  a  long  gauntlet  of  Union  pickets. 
Many  were  shot  down  in  the  attempt,  but  more  succeeded.  One  man, 
who  brought  in  sixteen  thousand  caps,  was  nine  days  travelling  thirteen 
miles,  and  was  fired  on  more  than  twenty  times. 

But,  though  Grant  could  have  starved  the  city  into  subjection  by  simply 


278  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

sitting  and  waiting,  he  grew  tired  of  this,  and  determined  to  force  matters  to 
an  issue.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  get  the  gunboats  and  trans- 
ports past  the  batteries.  The  transports  were  put  into  shape  to  stand  a 
cannonade  by  having  their  weaker  parts  covered  with  cotton-bales  ;  and  on 
one  dark  night  in  June,  the  flotilla  started  down  the  river,  with  the  iron- 
clad gunboats  in  advance.  Admiral  Porter  led  in  the  "Benton."  At 
eleven  o'clock  the  fleet  got  under  way  ;  and,  as  the  "  Benton  "  came  abreast 
of  the  first  batteries,  the  alarm  was  given  in  the  Confederate  camp,  and  a 
fierce  cannonade  began.  Huge  fires  were  lighted  on  the  shores  to  light  up 
the  river,  and  make  the  gunboats  visible  to  the  Confederate  cannoneers. 
The  war-ships  swung  grandly  around  the  bend,  responding  with  rapid 
broadsides  to  the  fire  of  the  forts.  All  the  vessels  were  hit  once  or 
oftener.  The  heavy  smoke  that  accompanies  such  fierce  cannonading  hung 
over  the  river,  cutting  off  all  view  of  the  surroundings  from  the  sailors. 
The  eddying  currents  of  the  river  caught  the  steamers,  swinging  them  now 
this  way,  now  that,  until  the  perplexed  pilots  knew  not  which  way  their 
vessels  were  headed.  The  blue-jackets  at  the  guns  worked  away  cheerily, 
knowing  that  enemies  were  on  every  side  of  them,  and  that,  no  matter 
which  way  their  missiles  sped,  an  enemy  was  to  be  found.  More  than  one 
vessel  turned  completely  around ;  and  once,  when  the  rising  breeze  cleared 
away  the  smoke,  the  pilot  of  the  "  Benton  "  found  that  he  was  taking  his 
ship  up-stream  again,  and  was  in  imminent  danger  of  running  down  a 
friendly  gunboat.  But  they  all  passed  on  without  receiving  any  severe 
injuries,  and  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  lay  anchored  far  below  the  city, 
ready  to  begin  the  attack  upon  the  Confederate  batteries  at  Grand  Gulf, 
which  were  called  "the  key  to  Vicksburg." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


VICKSBURG  SURRENDERS,  AND  THE  MISSISSIPPI  IS  OPENED.  —  NAVAL  EVENTS  ALONG 

THE  GULF  COAST. 


HE  first  grand  step  toward  the  capture  of  Vicksburg  was  made 
when  the  river-flotilla  followed  Porter  down  the  Mississippi,  and 
past  the  guns  of  the  Confederate  batteries.  Grant,  with  his 
army,  had  followed  along  the  western  bank  of  the  great  river ;  and 
we  now  find  him  ready  to  cross  the  river,  and  move  upon  the  Vicksburg 
batteries  from  the  south.  But,  before  this  could  be  done,  the  Confederate 
works  at  Grand  Gulf  must  be  silenced  ;  and  it  again  happened  that  the 
navy  was  to  be  the  chief  factor  in  the  contest.  For  this  new  battle  all 
the  blue-jackets  were  ready  and  anxious.  Admiral  Porter  says  that  "  when 
daylight  broke,  after  the  passage  of  the  fleet,  I  was  besieged  by  the  com- 
manding officers  of  the  gunboats,  who  came  to  tell  me  of  their  mishaps; 
"but,  when  I  intimated  that  I  intended  to  leave  at  Carthage  any  vessel  that 
could  not  stand  the  hammering  they  would  be  subject  to  at  Grand  Gulf, 
they  suddenly  discovered  that  no  damage  had  been  done  to  their  vessels, 
which,  if  any  thing,  were  better  prepared  for  action  than  when  they  started 
out ! " 

The  Confederate  works  at  Grand  Gulf  mounted  eighteen  guns  ;  and,  as 

they  stood  upon  high  bluffs  overlooking  the  river,  they  were  most  formid- 

279 


280      »  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

able.  It  was  decided  by  the  Federals  that  the  navy  alone  should  undertake 
the  task  of  reducing  the  fortifications,  —  a  decision  that  was  of  benefit 
to  the  Confederates,  for  their  strongest  position  was  along  the  river-front. 
Four  of  the  guns  held  a  raking  position  up  and  down  the  long  stretch  of 
muddy  water  that  swirled  and  eddied  by  with  a  current  of  seven  miles  an 
hour. 

While  the  fort  had  the  advantage  of  position,  the  gunboats  were  much 
stronger  in  their  armament ;  and  the  contest  was  looked  forward  to  as  one 
bound  to  be  desperate.  The  position  of  every  gun  in  the  batteries,  and 
the  size  of  the  garrison,  were  well  known  to  every  commander  of  a  Union 
vessel ;  and  they  made  the  most  careful  preparations  for  the  assault. 

The  Confederates  knew  that  the  result  of  that  day's  battle  would  decide 
the  ownership  of  Vicksburg,  and  they  were  prepared  to  offer  the  most  des- 
perate resistance.  The  orders  at  every  battery  were  to  use  shell  alone  ;  and 
the  men  were  instructed  to  fire  carefully,  and  only  after  taking  deadly  aim. 
In  a  high  tree  just  outside  the  fort  a  lookout  was  stationed;  and  at  early 
daylight,  on  the  morning  of  the  29th  of  April,  1863,  he  signalled  that  the 
fleet  of  gunboats  was  bearing  down  upon  the  works. 

Men  who  were  in  the  fort  that  morning  saw  a  strange  panorama.  The 
stillness  was  most  profound  on  the  shore  and  on  the  river.  The  boats 
moved  slowly  and  grandly  down,  not  a  man  in  sight,  and  with  no  sign  of 
life.  The  trees  up  the  river  were  black  with  Federal  spectators ;  and  the 
chirp  of  birds  was  all  about  the  men  who  stood  waiting  beside  the  huge 
cannon. 

Porter  went  at  his  work  with  a  vim  which  made  the  forest  tremble  and 
the  river  bubble.  For  the  first  few  minutes  the  Confederates  were  appalled 
by  the  fierceness  of  the  fire,  which  stands  on  record  as  the  fastest  in  the 
war ;  but,  when  the  forts  did  get  down  to  their  work,  they  went  in  with  a 
roar  that  almost  deafened  the  Federal  soldiers  three  miles  away.  Great 
shells  burst  over  the  gunboats,  or,  falling  into  the  water  close  by  their  sides, 
threw  up  columns  of  water  that  deluged  the  decks.  The  vessels  found  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  getting  good  positions  for  the  swift-eddying  current. 
One  moment  they  were  bow  on,  the  next  headed  down  stream,  or  up,  or 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  281 


whirling  around  in  circles.  Of  course  this  greatly  hurt  the  aim  of  the 
gunners,  but  it  likewise  made  the  vessels  poor  targets  for  the  Confederates. 

Three  gunboats  —  the  "Benton,"  "Tuscumbia,"  and  "Lafayette"  — 
engaged  the  upper  battery ;  and  nowhere  in  naval  history  is  found  the 
record  of  faster  firing  than  was  done  by  these  ships.  Their  huge  shells  tore 
away  at  the  walls  of  earth,  throwing  up  tons  of  dirt  with  each  explosion, 
but  not  seeming  to  affect  the  strength  of  the  fort  at  all.  Not  a  shot 
entered  an  embrasure,  though  many  came  near  it.  One  of  the  Confederate 
artillerists  said  after  the  fight,  — 

"  There  was  not  one  single  minute  in  all  that  five  hours  in  which  I  did 
not  expect  death.  We  all  worked  away  as  if  in  a  nightmare,  and  we  all 
felt  that  any  moment  might  be  our  last.  The  '  Benton  '  fired  repeatedly 
at  my  gun  ;  and  as  many  as  twenty  of  her  shells  struck  the  opening,  tearing 
holes  in  the  parapet  ten  feet  back.  Twenty  times  we  were  almost  buried 
out  of  sight  under  the  clouds  of  dirt,  and  the  loose  earth  was  knee  deep 
around  our  gun  when  the  fight  closed.  Not  one  of  us  was  hit  hard  enough 
to  draw  blood,  and  yet  we  all  felt  ten  years  older  for  that  five  hours'  work. 
I  sighted  the  gun,  and  saw  fourteen  of  my  shot  hit  the  '  Benton,'  and  six 
plunge  into  another." 

The  gunboats  fought  in  a  way  that  showed  desperate  determination. 
The  first  gun  from  the  "  Lafayette  "  was  answered  by  a  shell  which  crashed 
through  her  side  and  exploded  in  a  wardroom,  knocking  every  thing  into 
chips.  Three  times  the  carpenter  came  up  and  reported  to  the  captain  that 
the  ship  was  sinking ;  and  each  time  the  reply  was,  "  Very  well,  sir :  keep 
right  on  firing  until  the  guns  are  under  water."  When  the  ship  came  out 
of  the  fight,  she  counted  up  fifty  scars. 

The  long-range  firing  that  was  carried  on  at  first  did  not  satisfy  the 
"  Mound  City."  One  particular  gunner  on  the  Confederate  works  seemed 
to  cherish  a  spite  against  her ;  and  every  time  the  flame  leaped  from  the 
muzzle  of  his  gun,  a  solid  shot  banged  against  the  gunboat's  side.  This 
was  not  to  be  tamely  borne ;  and  the  "  Mound  City  "  rushed  up  so  close  to 
the  bank  that  her  bow  stirred  up  the  mud,  and  from  that  position  opened 
fast  and  furiously  upon  the  forts  with  grape  and  canister.  A  hail  of  rifle- 


282  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


bullets  fell  upon  her  decks  ;  but  she  stuck  to  her  post,  and  succeeded  in 
driving  the  enemy  to  the  bomb-proofs. 

But,  with  all  their  pluck  and  rapid  firing,  the  gunners  of  the  fleet  were 
making  no  impression  on  the  works.  Gen.  Grant,  who  was  watching  the 
engagement  from  a  tug  in  mid-stream,  saw  this,  and  determined  to  rush  his 
soldiers  past  the  fort  in  transports,  while  the  navy  engaged  the  enemy's 
guns.  This  was  done  quickly,  and  towards  night  the  ships  returned  to 
their  post  up  the  river,  leaving  the  Confederates  in  possession  of  the 
batteries.  But  the  great  point  had  been  gained ;  and  Grant's  army 
was  moving  on  Vicksburg,  with  nothing  to  interfere  with  its  besieging 
operations. 

Then  began  that  series  of  attacks  and  repulses,  of  building  trenches, 
paralleling,  and  advancing  steadily,  until  the  lines  of  the  Federals  and  the 
Confederates  were  so  close  together  that  the  men  used  to  shout  jokes 
and  taunts  over  the  breastworks.  All  the  Confederates  were  known  as 
"  Johnnies,"  and  all  Union  soldiers  as  "  Yanks."  Often  "  Johnny  "  would 
call  out,  "  Well,  Yank,  when  are  you  coming  into  town  ? "  Sometimes 
the  answer  was,  "We  propose  to  celebrate  the  Fourth  of  July  there."  The 
"Johnnies"  did  not  believe  this;  but  it  was  true,  nevertheless,  for  on  July 
4  Grant's  victorious  army  marched  into  Vicksburg.  A  day  or  two  later 
the  Confederate  works  at  Port  Hudson  and  Grand  Gulf  were  surrendered 
to  the  Federals,  and  the  Mississippi  was  again  open  for  commerce  through- 
out its  length. 

When  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  had  thus  left  the  river  clear,  Admiral  Porter 
was  ordered  to  take  his  fleet  up  the  Red  River,  and  clear  away  any  Confed- 
erate works  that  he  might  find  on  the  banks  of  that  stream.  Gen.  A.  J. 
Smith,  with  a  strong  body  of  troops,  accompanied  him  ;  while  Gen.  Banks 
was  to  march  his  troops  overland  from  Texas,  and  join  the  expedition  at 
Shreveport.  For  several  days  the  gunboats  pressed  forward  up  the  crooked 
stream,  meeting  with  no  opposition,  save  from  the  sharp-shooters  who  lined 
the  banks  on  either  side,  and  kept  up  a  constant  fire  of  small-arms. 

Shreveport  was  reached  in  safety ;  and,  after  a  short  halt,  the  flotilla 
started  again  on  their  voyage  up  the  river.  They  had  proceeded  but  a 


MANNING  THE  YARDS. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  285 


short  distance  when  a  courier  came  galloping  down  the  river's  bank, 
waving  a  despatch,  which  he  handed  to  Admiral  Porter. 

"The  despatch  read,  'Gen.  Banks  badly  defeated;  return."  Here  was  a 
dilemma  to  be  placed  in,  — a  victorious  army  between  us  and  our  own  forces  ; 
a  long,  winding,  shallow  river  wherein  the  vessels  were  continually  ground- 
ing ;  a  long  string  of  empty  transports,  with  many  doubtful  captains,  who 
were  constantly  making  excuses  to  lie  by  or  to  land  (in  other  words,  who 
were  trying  to  put  their  vessels  into  the  power  of  the  Confederates) ;  and  a 
thousand  points  on  the  river  where  we  could  be  attacked  with  great  advan- 
tage by  the  enemy ;  and  the  banks  lined  with  sharp-shooters,  by  whom  every 
incautious  soldier  who  showed  himself  was  shot." 

But,  though  the  admiral  clearly  saw  all  the  dangers  he  was  exposed  to, 
and  which  he  recounts  in  the  foregoing  paragraph,  he  did  not  propose  to 
return,  but  pressed  forward.  He  soon  reached  the  scene  of  battle,  and 
with- the  big  guns  of  his  boats  covered  the  retreat  of  the  troops;  then, 
having  done  all  there  was  to  be  done,  started  down  the  river. 

But  now  came  the  great  trouble  of  the  whole  expedition.  Those  South- 
ern rivers  are  accustomed  in  summer  to  fall  rapidly  until  they  become 
mere  dry  ditches,  with  a  narrow  rivulet,  hardly  deep  enough  to  float  a  row- 
boat,  flowing  down  the  centre.  This  was  the  summer  season,  and  the  Red 
River  was  falling  fast.  The  banks  swarmed  with  gray-coated  soldiery, 
anxious  to  be  on  hand  to  capture  the  ships.  At  Grand  Ecore  the  "  East- 
port"  became  unmanageable,  and  was  blown  up.  The  fleet  continued  on 
its  way  quietly,  until  a  serious  obstacle  was  met.  Admiral  Porter  writes  :  — 

"  One  of  the  '  Cricket's '  guns  was  mounted  on  the  upper  deck  forward, 
to  command  the  banks  ;  and  a  crew  of  six  men  were  kept  stationed  at  it, 
ready  to  fire  at  any  thing  hostile. 

"  We  went  along  at  a  moderate  pace,  to  keep  within  supporting  distance 
of  each  other.  I  was  sitting  on  the  upper  deck,  reading,  with  one  eye  on 
the  book  and  the  other  on  the  bushes,  when  I  saw  men's  heads,  and  sang  out 
to  the  commanding  officer,  Gorringe,  '  Give  those  fellows  in  the  bushes  a 
two-second  shell.'  A  moment  after  the  shell  burst  in  the  midst  of  the 
people  on  the  bank. 


286  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

"  'Give  them  another  dose,'  I  said,  when,  to  my  astonishment,  there  came 
on  board  a  shower  of  projectiles  that  fairly  made  the  little  '  Cricket '  stag- 
ger. Nineteen  shells  burst  on  board  our  vessel  at  the  first  volley.  It  was 
the  gun-battery  of  which  our  prisoner  had  told  us.  We  were  going  along 
at  this  time  about  six  knots  an  hour ;  and,  before  we  could  fire  another  gun, 
we  were  right  under  the  battery  and  turning  the  point,  presenting  the 
'  Cricket's '  stern  to  the  enemy.  They  gave  us  nine  shells  when  we  were 
not  more  than  twenty  yards  distant  from  the  bank,  all  of  which  burst  inside 
of  us ;  and,  as  the  vessel's  stern  was  presented,  they  poured  in  ten  more 
shots,  which  raked  us  fore  and  aft. 

'•'  Then  came  the  roar  of  three  thousand  muskets,  which  seemed  to  strike 
every  spot  in  the  vessel.  Fortunately  her  sides  were  musket-proof. 

"The  'Cricket'  stopped.  I  had  been  expecting  it.  How,  thought  I, 
could  all  these  shells  go  through  a  vessel  without  disabling  the  machinery  ? 
The  Rebels  gave  three  cheers,  and  let  us  drift  on  :  they  were  determined  to 
have  the  whole  of  us.  They  opened  their  guns  on  the  two  pump-boats,  and 
sunk  them  at  the  first  discharge.  The  poor  negroes  that  could  swim  tried  to 
reach  the  shore ;  but  the  musketeers  picked  off  those  that  were  in  the  water 
or  clinging  to  the  wrecks.  It  was  a  dreadful  spectacle  to  witness,  with  no 
power  to  prevent  it ;  but  it  turned  out  to  be  the  salvation  of  the  '  Cricket.' 
All  this  took  place  in  less  than  five  minutes. 

"  The  moment  the  '  Cricket '  received  the  first  discharge  of  artillery,  I  went 
on  deck  to  the  pilot-house,  saluted  by  a  volley  of  musketry  as  I  passed  along; 
and,  as  I  opened  the  pilot-house  door,  I  saw  that  the  pilot,  Mr.  Drening,  had 
his  head  cut  open  by  a  piece  of  shell,  and  the  blood  was  streaming  down  his 
cheeks.  He  still  held  on  to  the  wheel.  '  I  am  all  right,  sir,'  he  said :  '  I 
won't  give  up  the  wheel.' 

"  Gorringe  was  perfectly  cool,  and  was  ringing  the  engine-room  bell  to 
go  ahead.  In  front  of  the  wheel-house,  the  bodies  of  the  men  who  manned 
the  howitzer  were  piled  up.  A  shell  had  struck  the  gun,  and,  exploding,  had 
killed  all  the  crew,  —  a  glorious  death  for  them." 

Porter  now  found  himself  in  a  bad  fix.  His  guns  could  not  be  elevated 
enough  to  bear  on  the  batteries  that  stood  on  the  crest  of  the  high  bluffs. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  287 


There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  run  by  at  the  best  possible  rate  of  speed. 
Suddenly  the  engine  stopped,  and  the  vessel  floated  helplessly  down  the 
stream.  Porter  rushed  below  to  discover  the  trouble.  In  the  engine-room 
stood  the  engineer  leaning  heavily  against  the  throttle.  Porter  shouted  at 
him,  but  received  no  reply ;  then,  putting  his  hand  on  the  man's  shoulder, 
found  him  dead.  The  admiral  threw  the  body  aside,  pulled  open  the  throt- 
tle, and  the  "  Cricket "  glided  along  past  the  batteries  to  a  safe  refuge  down- 
stream. The  other  ships  came  down  safely,  although  more  or  less  cut  up ; 
and  the  flotilla  continued  its  retreat  down  the  stream.  For  a  day  or  two  all 
went  smoothly  as  a  holiday  excursion  ;  then  came  a  sudden  reverse,  that,  for 
for  a  time,  seemed  to  make  certain  the  loss  of  the  entire  fleet.  At  Alexan- 
dria the  Red-river  bottom  is  full  of  great  rocks  that  make  it  impassable 
except  at  the  highest  water.  When  Porter's  gunboats  arrived,  they  found 
themselves  caught  in  a  trap  from  which  there  seemed  to  be  no  hope  of 
escape.  The  army  was  encamped  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  the 
soldiers  began  again  their  jokes  upon  Porter's  habit  of  taking  gunboats 
for  an  overland  journey.  The  army  generals  began  to  get  impatient,  and 
advised  Porter  to  blow  up  his  ships,  as  the  troops  must  soon  march  on 
and  leave  him.  Porter  was  sick  in  bed,  but  this  suggestion  aroused  him. 
"  Burn  my  gunboats  !  "  he  cried,  springing  to  his  feet.  "  Never !  I'll  wait 
here  for  high  water  if  I  have  to  wait  two  years."  And,  indeed,  it  began  to 
look  as  though  he  would  be  forced  to  wait  nearly  that  long. 

In  this  time  of  suspense,  there  arose  a  man  equal  to  the  emergency.  A 
certain  Lieut.-Col.  Bailey,  who  had  been  a  Wisconsin  lumberman,  came  to 
Porter,  and  suggested  that  a  dam  should  be  built  to  raise  the  water  fourteen 
feet  above  the  falls.  Porter  jumped  at  the  suggestion,  and  eight  thousand 
men  were  set  to  work. 

"  It  will  take  too  much  time  to  enter  into  the  details  of  this  truly  wonder- 
ful work,"  writes  Admiral  Porter.  "  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  dam  had  nearly 
reached  completion  in  eight  days'  working-time,  and  the  water  had  risen 
sufficiently  on  the  upper  falls  to  allow  the  '  Fort  Hindman,'  '  Osage,'  and 
'  Neosho '  to  get  down  and  be  ready  to  pass  the  dam.  In  another  day  it 
would  have  been  high  enough  to  enable  all  the  other  vessels  to  pass  the 


288 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


upper  falls.  Unfortunately,  on  the  morning  of  the  Qth  instant  the  pressure 
of  water  became  so  great  that  it  swept  away  two  of  the  stone  barges  which 
swung  in  below  the  dam  on  one  side.  Seeing  this  unfortunate  accident,  I 
jumped  on  a  horse,  and  rode  up  to  where  the  upper  vessels  were  anchored, 
and  ordered  the  '  Lexington '  to  pass  the  upper  falls  if  possible,  and  immedi- 


BAILEY'S  DAM  ON  THE  RED  RIVER. 

ately  attempt  to  go  through  the  dam.  I  thought  I  might  be  able  to  save  the 
four  vessels  below,  not  knowing  whether  the  persons  employed  on  the  work 
would  ever  have  the  heart  to  renew  their  enterprise. 

"The  'Lexington'  succeeded  in  getting  over  the  upper  falls  just  in  time, 
the  water  rapidly  falling  as  she  was  passing  over.     She  then  steered  directly 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  289 


for  the  opening  in  the  dam,  through  which  the  water  was  rushing  so  furiously 
that  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  but  destruction  awaited  her.  Thousands  of 
beating  hearts  looked  on,  anxious  for  the  result.  The  silence  was  so  great 
as  the  '  Lexington '  approached  the  dam,  that  a  pin  might  almost  be  heard 
to  fall.  She  entered  the  gap  with  a  full  head  of  steam  on,  pitched  down  the 
roaring  torrent,  made  two  or  three  spasmodic  rolls,  hung  for  a  moment  on 
the  rocks  below,  was  then  swept  into  deep  water  by  the  current,  and 
rounded  to  safely  into  the  bank.  Thirty  thousand  voices  rose  in  one 
deafening  cheer,  and  universal  joy  seemed  to  pervade  the  face  of  every 
man  present." 

After  the  dam  was  repaired,  the  rest  of  the  fleet  passed  down  safely. 

With  the  escape  of  the  Red-river  flotilla,  the  career  of  Admiral  Porter 
on  the  rivers  ended.  Indeed,  there  was  but  little  work  for  the  river  navy 
remaining.  The  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  and  Cumberland  Rivers  were 
opened ;  and  the  Confederate  works  on  the  smaller  streams  were  unimpor- 
tant, and  could  be  left  to  fall  with  the  fall  of  the  Confederacy,  which  was 
near  at  hand.  There  was  work  for  fighting  sea-captains  along  the  Atlantic 
coast,  and  thither  Admiral  Porter  was  ordered.  He  will  re-appear  at  the 
bombardment  of  Fort  Fisher. 

An  event  which  caused  the  greatest  excitement  in  naval  circles  at  this 
time,  and  which  for  courage  and  dash  has  probably  never  been  equalled  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  was  the  run  of  the  Confederate  privateer  "  Florida  " 
past  the  United  States  fleet  blockading  the  harbor  of  Mobile.  The 
"Florida"  was  originally  a  merchant-ship,  known  as  the  "Oreto;"  and 
under  that  name  she  sailed  from  Liverpool,  carrying  a  peaceful  cargo, 
and  manned  by  sailors  who  had  no  idea  that  any  thing  beyond  a  peaceable 
voyage  was  planned.  She  was  commanded  by  an  English  sea-captain  ;  and, 
although  the  United  States  consul  at  Liverpool  looked  on  her  with  some 
suspicion,  yet  he  could  find  no  pretext  upon  which  to  oppose  her  departure. 

Hardly  had  the  ship  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Mersey,  when  her  course 
was  shaped  for  Nassau,  the  haven  of  privateers  and  blockade-runners.  At 
Nassau  several  officers  of  the  Confederate  navy  were  living ;  and  from  the 
anxiety  with  which  they  scanned  the  horizon  day  after  day,  through  their 


290  BLUE-JACKETS  OF   '61. 


telescopes,  it  would  seem  that  they  were  watching  for  some  friendly  craft. 
The  "  Oreto "  arrived  safely  at  Nassau ;  and  a  young  gentleman  who  had 
come  with  her  made  all  possible  haste  ashore,  and  delivered  to  the  watchful 
gentlemen  in  the  town  certain  letters,  which  made  them  first  look  with  the 
greatest  satisfaction  at  the  newly  arrived  ship,  and  then  begin  again  their 
outlook  for  vessels.  The  letters  were  from  Capt.  Bulloch,  the  agent  in 
London  of  the  Confederacy ;  and  by  them  he  notified  his  brother  naval 
officers  that  he  delivered  to  them  the  "  Oreto,"  an  admirably  built  ship, 
suited  for  an  armed  cruiser.  "  It  has  been  impossible  to  get  the  regular 
battery  intended  for  her  on  board,"  wrote  Capt.  Bulloch;  "but  I  have 
sent  out  four  seven-inch  rifled  guns,  with  all  necessary  equipments,  in  the 
steamship  'Bahama,'  bound  for  Nassau." 

So  here  were  the  naval  officers  and  their  ship,  but  the  guns  were  yet  to 
come ;  and,  when  they  did  come,  some  shrewd  planning  would  be  necessary 
to  get  the  guns  mounted  without  alarming  the  British  authorities.  By  the 
time  the  "  Bahama  "  arrived,  the  plans  were  all  made.  As  the  steamer  came 
up  to  the  dock,  a  small  schooner  slipped  alongside,  and  eight  or  ten  heavy 
cases  were  transferred  from  the  larger  vessel's  hold  to  the  deck  of  the 
coaster.  Then  the  little  vessel  sailed  over  to  Green  Cay,  a  desert  island 
about  sixty  miles  from  Nassau,  where  she  was  soon  joined  by  the  "  Oreto." 
There  the  work  of  changing  the  peaceful  merchantman  "  Oreto  "  into  the 
war-cruiser  "Florida"  began. 

The  work  of  transferring  the  armament,  and  mounting  the  guns,  was 
very  laborious.  The  hot  sun  of  August  at  the  equator  poured  down  upon 
them.  Exposure  and  general  discomforts  told  heavily  upon  them ;  and 
before  long  the  yellow-fever,  that  most  terrible  scourge  of  the  West  Indies, 
broke  out  among  the  men.  There  was  no  surgeon  on  board,  and  the  care 
of  the  sick  fell  upon  Capt.  Maffitt.  Two  United  States  men-of-war  were 
hunting  through  the  West  Indies  for  the  vessel  they  knew  was  fitting  out 
somewhere  amid  the  coral  reefs  and  sandy,  desolate  keys.  But  Maffitt 
kept  up  his  courage,  and  before  long  found  himself  at  sea,  with  a  good 
stanch  ship  and  crew,  that,  though  short-handed,  was  made  up  of  the  very 
best  material.  But  he  had  hardly  cut  loose  from  civilization,  and  started 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  291 

out  upon  his  cruise,  when  he  discovered,  that,  in  the  worry  and  haste  of  his 
departure,  he  had  put  to  sea  without  rammers  or  sponges  for  his  guns.  He 
was  in  a  desperate  plight.  Had  the  smallest  United  States  man-of-war 
met  the  "  Florida,"  the  Confederate  could  not  have  offered  the  slightest 
resistance.  She  could  not  have  even  fired  a  gun.  Capt.  Maffitt  ran  his 
vessel  into  Havana  in  the  hopes  of  being  allowed  to  refit  there;  but  the 
fortunes  of  the  Confederacy  were  waning  fast,  and  all  nations  feared  to 
give  it  aid  or  comfort.  Seeing  no  hope,  Maffitt  determined  to  dare  all 
things,  and  make  a  dash  for  Mobile  through  the  very  centre  of  the  block- 
ading-fleet. 

When  the  "  Florida "  put  out  from  the  harbor  of  Havana,  only  four 
or  five  men  were  able  to  be  on  deck.  The  rest,  with  her  commander,  were 
below,  deathly  sick  with  yellow-fever.  Under  the  command  of  a  young 
lieutenant,  her  course  was  laid  for  Mobile  ;  and  in  a  few  hours  the  smoke  of 
the  blockading-vessels  could  be  seen  rising  on  the  clear  air.  An  English 
ensign  was  hoisted,  and  the  fleet  ship  dashed  towards  the  men-o'-war 
that  lay  in  wait.  A  blank  cartridge  was  fired  to  warn  her  away,  but  she 
paid  no  heed.  Then  came  a  solid  shot  that  ploughed  up  the  water  before 
her  bow.  As  this  evoked  no  response,  the  whole  fleet  opened  fire  with  shot 
and  shell.  "  Had  they  depressed  their  guns  but  a  little,"  said  Maffitt 
afterwards,  "  the  career  of  the  '  Florida '  would  have  ended  then  and 
there."  But,  as  it  was,  she  sped  on,  with  no  signs  of  damage  save  the 
flying  ends  of  cut  cordage.  She  could  not  respond  to  the  fire,  for  but 
three  men  remained  on  her  deck.  So,  silently  and  grimly,  she  rushed 
through  the  fleet,  and  finally  passed  the  last  frigate.  Quarter  of  an  hour 
later  she  anchored  under  the  guns  of  Fort  Morgan.  She  had  received 
eight  shots  in  her  hull,  and  her  masts  were  chipped  by  dozens  of  fragments 
of  shell.  After  refitting,  the  "  Florida  "  waited  nearly  a  month  for  a  chance 
to  get  out  again.  Finally  the  moment  arrived  ;  and  she  made  her  escape, 
though  chased  for  four  hours  by  the  blockaders.  Once  on  the  open  sea, 
she  began  the  regular  career  of  Confederate  cruisers,  burned  unarmed  ships, 
and  avoided  war-vessels,  until  she  was  run  down  in  a  neutral  port  by  a 
Union  man-of-war,  whose  commander  acted  in  utter  defiance  of  all  the 


292 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


rules  of  modern  warfare.  In  the  career  of  the  "  Florida,"  after  her  escape 
from  Mobile,  there  was  nothing  of  moment ;  and  her  capture,  treacherous 
as  it  was,  brought  more  discredit  upon  the  Northern  arms  than  did  her 
•depredations  work  injury  to  the  Northern  merchant-marine. 


CHAPTER   XVII 


OPERATIONS  ABOUT  CHARLESTON.  —  THE  BOMBARDMENT,  THE  SIEGE,  AND  THE  CAPTURE. 

E  have  now  reached  the  period  at  which  the  rapid  decline  in  the 
prospects  of  the  Confederacy  had  become  apparent,  not  only  to 
its  enemies,  but  to  its  friends.  Throughout  the  South  the  stars 
and  bars  floated  over  only  three  strongholds  of  any  importance,  — 
Charleston,  Mobile,  and  Wilmington.  One  after  the  other  these  were 
destined  to  fall,  and  their  final  overthrow  was  to  be  the  work  of  the  navy. 
It  was  no  easy  task  in  any  one  of  the  three  instances  to  dislodge  the 
Confederates  from  their  positions  ;  for  though  beaten  in  the  Middle  States, 
driven  from  the  Mississippi,  and  with  their  very  citadel  at  Vicksburg  in  the 
hands  of  the  Federals,  they  still  fought  with  a  courage  and  desperation 
that  for  a  long  time  baffled  the  attacks  of  the  Unionists. 

From  the  very  opening  of  the  war,  Charleston  Harbor  had  been  the 
scene  of  naval  hostilities.  The  Confederates,  looking  upon  their  moulder- 
ing wharves,  and  vessels  tugging  idly  at  their  chains,  then  looking  out 
to  sea  past  Fort  Sumter,  could  see  the  ships  of  the  blockading-squadron 
maintaining  the  watchful  guard  that  was  slowly  reducing  the  city  to 
penury.  What  wonder  that  the  blood  of  the  good  people  of  Charleston 
boiled,  and  that  they  built,  and  hurled  against  their  hated  enemy,  weird 

293 


294  BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61. 

naval  monsters,  shapeless  torpedo-boats  running  beneath  the  water,  or 
huge  rams  that  might  even  batter  in  the  heavy  walls  of  Fort  Sumter ! 

One  attack  so  made  was  successful  to  a  certain  extent.  It  was  in 
February,  1864,  that  an  inventive  genius  in  the  beleaguered  city  brought 
out  a  steam  torpedo-boat.  The  craft  was  about  twenty-five  feet  long,  shaped 
like  a  cigar,  built  of  boiler  iron,  and  propelled  by  a  screw.  She  had  no 
smoke-stack,  and  her  deck  barely  rose  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 
Running  out  from  her  bow  was  a  stout  spar  fifteen  feet  long,  bearing  at  its 
end  a  huge  torpedo  charged  with  two  hundred  pounds  of  powder.  Just 
before  nine  o'clock  one  night,  the  lookout  on  the  deck  of  the  frigate 
"  Housatonic "  saw  this  strange  object  approaching  the  ship.  It  was  a 
bright  night,  with  no  sea  on.  As  yet  torpedoes  were  hardly  known,  so 
the  lookout  took  it  for  a  large  fish,  and  simply  watched  with  interest  its 
playful  movements.  Not  until  it  came  so  close  that  no  guns  could  be 
brought  to  bear,  did  any  suspicion  of  danger  enter  the  lookout's  mind. 
Then  there  was  the  roll  of  the  alarm-drums  ;  while  the  men  rushed  to  the 
side,  and  poured  a  fierce  fire  from  small-arms  on  the  mysterious  object. 
The  "  Housatonic  "  started  her  engines,  and  tried  to  escape ;  but,  before  any 
headway  could  be  gained,  the  launch  dashed  alongside,  and  a  slight  jar  was 
felt.  Then,  with  a  tremendous  roar,  a  huge  column  of  water  was  thrown 
high  in  air,  washing  away  men  and  boats  from  the  deck  of  the  war-ship.  A 
hole  large  enough  to  drive  a  horse  through  was  rent  in  the  hull  of  the  ship. 
Great  beams  were  broken  in  twain,  the  heaviest  guns  were  dismounted,  and 
men  were  hurled  fifty  feet  into  the  air.  In  five  minutes  the  ship  had  gone 
to  the  bottom,  and  boats  from  other  vessels  were  picking  up  the  crew.  The 
launch  escaped  in  the  excitement. 

The  Union  sailor-boys  did  not  let  the  Confederates  outdo  them  in  dash 
and  pluck.  One  of  the  cleverest  bits  of  work  in  the  whole  war  was  done 
by  four  boat-crews  from  two  men-of-war  on  the  Charleston  station.  Word 
had  been  brought  to  the  blockaders,  that,  far  up  a  little  deep  and  narrow 
creek,  a  large  steamship  was  loading  with  cotton,  expecting  to  reach  the 
ocean  through  the  labyrinth  of  inlets  that  fairly  honeycomb  the  South 
Carolina  coast.  Should  she  once  get  into  that  network  of  water-ways,  it 


CUTTING  OUT  A  BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  297 


would  require  a  whole  fleet  to  catch  her ;  for  there  was  no  telling  at  what 
point  she  might  emerge. 

It  was  at  once  determined  to  try  to  capture  her  as  she  lay  at  her  deck, 
and  four  boats'  crews  of  picked  men  were  sent  out  on  the  expedition.  It 
was  early  evening  when  they  set  out ;  and  all  through  the  dark  night  they 
pulled  away,  threading  the  mazes  of  the  tidal  inlets.  Just  as  the  eastern 
horizon  was  beginning  to  grow  gray  with  the  coming  dawn,  they  came  in 
sight  of  their  destination.  Sure  enough,  there  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
was  a  little  Southern  village,  changed  into  a  prosperous  town  by  the  block- 
ade-runners that  had  evidently  been  making  this  place  a  harbor  for  .some 
time. 

All  was  dark  and  silent  as  the  grave.  Confident  in  their  fancied  security, 
the  blockade-runners  had  all  turned  in,  leaving  no  one  on  guard.  The 
steamer  was  loaded,  and  ready  to  sail  in  the  morning;  and  the  thin  wreaths 
of  smoke  rising  from  her  smoke-stack  told  that  the  fires  were  up.  Stealthily 
the  sailors  pulled  alongside,  and  clambered  on  deck.  Without  a  word  they 
stole  below,  put  the  crew  under  guards,  and  rushed  into  the  engine-room, 
where  they  found  the  engineer  dozing  on  his  stool.  He  was  ordered  to  get 
under  way  at  once ;  and,  though  he  looked  rather  dazed,  he  obeyed  the  order. 
And  in  fifteen  minutes  the  steamer  was  speeding  down-stream,  leaving  the 
old  town  still  asleep. 

One  man  alone  of  all  the  townspeople  had  seen  the  capture.  A  negro, 
hiding  behind  a  pile  of  lumber  on  the  dock,  had  watched  the  whole  affair, 
and,  as  if  struck  dumb  with  astonishment,  failed  to  give  the  alarm  until  the 
steamer  was  out  of  sight  down  the  winding  stream.  The  blue-jackets  took 
their  capture  safely  out  of  the  enemy's  lines,  and  the  next  day  it  was  sent 
to  New  York  as  a  prize. 

While  the  navy  was  keeping  the  port  of  Charleston  sealed,  and  every 
now  and  then  beating  back  the  improvised  gunboats  that  the  Confederates 
sent  out  in  the  forlorn  hope  of  breaking  through  the  blockade,  the  armies 
of  the  North  were  closing  in  upon  the  doomed  city.  All  the  North  cried 
aloud  for  the  capture  of  Charleston.  It  was  the  city  which  fired  the  first 
gun  of  the  war.  Let  it  be  reduced !  On  every  available  point  of  land  a 


298  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

Union  battery  was  built.  Far  out  in  the  swamps  back  of  the  city,  where 
it  was  thought  no  living  thing  save  reptiles  could  exist,  the  soldiers  of  the 
North  had  raised  a  battery,  mounting  one  two-hundred-pound  gun.  When 
a  young  lieutenant  was  ordered  to  build  this  battery,  he  looked  the  ground 
over,  and  reported  the  thing  impossible.  "There  is  no  such  word  as  impos- 
sible," sternly  answered  the  colonel.  "  Set  to  work,  and  call  for  whatever 
you  need  to  secure  success." 

The  next  day  the  lieutenant,  who  was  a  bit  of  a  wag,  made  a  requisition 
on  the  quartermaster  for  one  hundred  men  eighteen  feet  high,  to  wade 
through  mud  sixteen  feet  deep.  Pleasantry  is  not  appreciated  in  war ;  and 
the  officer  was  arrested,  but  soon  secured  his  release,  and  built  the  battery 
with  men  of  ordinary  height. 

In  April,  1862,  Admiral  Du  Pont  had  lined  his  iron-clads  and  monitors 
up  before  the  beetling  walls  of  Fort  Sumter,  and  had  hurled  solid  shot 
for  hours,  with  only  the  effect  of  breaking  away  sharp  corners  and  projecting 
edges  of  the  fort,  but  leaving  it  still  as  powerful  a  work  of  defence  as  ever. 
The  little  monitors  exposed  to  the  terrible  fire  from  the  guns  of  Sumter 
were  fairly  riddled ;  and,  when  the  signal  was  finally  made  to  withdraw  from 
the  action,  the  humblest  sailor  knew  that  Charleston  would  only  fall  after 
a  siege  as  protracted  and  wearisome  as  that  of  Vicksburg. 

The  investment  of  Charleston  lasted  from  the  date  of  that  first  attack 
upon  Fort  Sumter  until  1865.  From  time  to  time  the  war-vessels  would 
throw  a  few  shells  into  the  city,  as  a  reminder  to  the  inhabitants  that  they 
were  under  surveillance.  Early  in  the  siege  the  Swamp  Angel,  as  the  big 
gun  back  in  the  swamp  was  called,  began  sending  hourly  messages,  in  the 
form  of  two-hundred-pound  shells,  into  the  city.  In  one  quarter,  where 
the  shells  fell  thickest,  a  severe  fire  was  started,  which  raged  fiercely,  driving 
people  from  their  homes,  and  reducing  whole  blocks  to  ashes ;  while  the 
deadly  shells  aided  in  the  work  of  destruction.  But  the  life  of  the  Swamp 
Angel,  whose  shells  were  the  most  destructive,  was  but  short ;  for,  after  a 
few  days'  work,  it  burst,  scattering  the  sand-bags,  of  which  the  battery  was 
built,  far  and  wide  over  the  swamp. 

The  officers  of  the  army,  who  were  bringing  their  troops  nearer  and 


CHARLESTON  BOMBARDED. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


301 


nearer  to  the  city,  expected  the  iron-clad  vessels  to  steam  boldly  up  the 
harbor,  and  compel  a  surrender  of  the  city ;  but  the  naval  officers  dared  not, 


WAR-SHIPS  OFF  CHARLESTON  HARBOR. 


owing  to  the  torpedoes  with  which  the  channel  was  thickly  planted.  If 
Sumter  could  only  be  captured,  the  torpedoes  could  be  searched  out  and 
easily  removed ;  and,  with  this  thought  in  mind,  a  number  of  bold  sailors 


302  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


fitted  out  an  expedition  to  attack  the  fort.  Thirty  boats,  filled  with  armed 
men,  made  their  way  to  the  base  of  the  shattered  walls  of  the  fort.  As  they 
came  up,  not  a  sign  of  life  was  to  be  seen  about  the  huge  black  monster  that 
had  so  long  kept  the  iron-clads  at  bay.  Rapidly  and  silently  the  men 
swarmed  from  their  boats,  and,  led  by  three  brave  officers,  began  the  ascent 
of  the  sloping  walls.  "The  Johnnies  are  asleep,"  they  whispered  to  each 
other  :  "we  have  the  fort  this  time."  But  the  Johnnies  were  wide  awake,  and 
waiting  behind  those  grim  bastions  until  the  proper  moment  should  arrive. 
Higher  and  higher  climbed  the  blue-jackets;  and  they  were  just  about  to 
spring  over  the  last  barrier,  when  there  rose  before  them  a  wall  of  men  and 
a  deadly  fire  of  musketry,  and  a  storm  of  hand-grenades  cut  trteir  ranks  to 
pieces.  Around  the  corner  of  the  fort  steamed  a  small  gunboat,  which 
opened  fire  on  the  assailants.  The  carnage  was  terrible  ;  and*  the  sailors 
were  driven  back  to  their  boats,  leaving  two  hundred  dead  and  wounded,  and 
three  stands  of  colors,  as  trophies  for  the  garrison. 

After  that  grapple  with  the  giant  fortress,  the  Federals  did  not  again  try 
to  come  to  close  quarters  ;  but,  keeping  at  a  distance,  maintained  a  steady 
fire  upon  the  fort,  which  drove  its  defenders  from  the  guns,  and  enabled  the 
Union  troops  to  throw  up  batteries  upon  all  the  neighboring  islands.  The 
fleet  then  remained  on  blockading-service  until  Feb.  18,  1865,  when  the  Con- 
federates evacuated  the  city,  and  left  the  fort  to  the  victorious  Federals. 
Five  years  after  the  date  when  Major  Anderson  with  his  little  band  of 
soldiers  had  marched  out  of  Sumter.  leaving  the  fort  to  the  enemy,  the  same 
gallant  officer  returned,  and  with  his  own  hand  hoisted  the  same  tattered 
flag  over  the  almost  ruined  fortress,  amid  salvos  of  artillery  and  the  cheers 
of  a  victorious  army  and  navy. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY. 

HE  last  two  actions  of  the  United  States  navy  in  the  civil  war 
were  destined  to  be  the  grandest  successes  of  a  long  record  of 
daring  and  successful  exploits.      Farragut  at  Mobile,  and  Porter 
at  Fort  Fisher,  added  to  their  wondrous  careers  the  cap-sheaves 
of  two  victories  wrested  from  apparently  unconquerable  adversaries. 

It  was  on  a  bright  August  morning  in  1864  that  Admiral  Farragut 
stood  on  the  deck  of  his  stanch  frigate  the  "  Hartford,"  that  had  borne 
him  through  so  many  desperate  battles.  Around  the  flag-ship  were  clus- 
tered the  vessels  of  the  Gulf  squadron.  There  was  the  battered  old 
•"Brooklyn,"  scarred  with  the  wounds  of  a  dozen  fights;  the  "Rich- 
mond "  and  the  "  Itasca,"  that  received  their  baptism  of  fire  at  the  fight 
below  New  Orleans.  In  all  there  were  fourteen  wooden  vessels  and  four 
iron-clad  monitors  assembled  in  front  of  the  strongest  combination  of  harbor 
defences  that  war-ships  ever  yet  dared  attack.  Yet  Farragut  was  there 
that  bright  summer  morning  to  enter  that  bay,  and  batter  the  forts  of  the 
enemy  into  subjection.  To  capture  the  city  was  not  his  purpose,  — that  he 
left  to  the  army,  —  but  the  harbor  forts  and  the  great  ram  "Tennessee" 
•must  strike  their  colors  to  the  navy. 

Before  arranging  for  the  attack,  the  admiral  made  a  reconnoissance,  the 

3°3 


304  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


results  of  which  are  thus  told  by  one  of  his  officers  :  "  On  the  afternoon 
of  the  day  of  our  arrival,  Admiral  Farragut,  with  the  commanding  officers  of 
the  different  vessels,  made  a  reconnoissance  on  the  steam-tender  '  Cow- 
slip,' running  inside  of  Sand  Island,  where  the  monitors  were  anchored, 
and  near  enough  to  get  a  good  view  of  both  forts.  On  the  left,  some  two 
miles  distant,  was  Fort  Gaines,  a  small  brick-and-earth  work,  mounting  a 
few  heavy  guns,  but  too  far  away  from  the  ship-channel  to  cause  much 
uneasiness  to  the  fleet.  Fort  Morgan  was  on  the  right,  one  of  the  strong- 
est of  the  old  stone  forts,  and  greatly  strengthened  by  immense  piles  of 
sand-bags  covering  every  portion  of  the  exposed  front.  The  fort  was 
well  equipped  with  three  tiers  of  heavy  guns,  some  of  them  of  the  best 
English  make,  imported  by  the  Confederates.  In  addition,  there  was  in 
front  a  battery  of  eleven  powerful  guns,  at  the  water's  edge  on  the  beach. 
All  the  guns,  of  both  fort  and  water  battery,  were  within  point-blank 
range  of  the  only  channel  through  which  the  fleet  could  pass.  The  Rebels 
considered  the  works  impregnable,  but  they  did  not  depend  solely  upon 
them.  Just  around  the  point  of  land,  behind  Fort  Morgan,  we  could  see 
that  afternoon  three  saucy-looking  gunboats  and  the  famous  ram  'Ten- 
nessee.' The  latter  was  then  considered  the  strongest  and  most  powerful 
iron-clad  ever  put  afloat ;  looking  like  a  great  turtle,  with  sloping  sides  cov- 
ered with  iron  plates  six  inches  in  thickness,  thoroughly  riveted  together,  and 
having  a  formidable  iron  beak  projecting  under  the  water.  Her  armament 
consisted  of  six  heavy  guns  of  English  make,  sending  a  solid  shot  weigh- 
ing one  hundred  and  ten  pounds, — a  small  affair  compared  with  the  heavy 
guns  of  the  present  time,  but  irresistible  then  against  every  thing  but  the 
turrets  of  the  monitors.  In  addition  to  these  means  of  resistance,  the 
narrow  channel  in  front  of  the  fort  had  been  lined  with  torpedoes.  These 
were  under  the  water,  anchored  to  the  bottom,  and  were  chiefly  in  the  shape 
of  beer-kegs  filled  with  powder,  from  the  sides  of  which  projected  numerous 
little  tubes  containing  fulminate,  which  it  was  expected  would  be  exploded 
by  contact  with  the  passing  vessels. 

"Except  for  what  Farragut  had  already  accomplished  on  the  Mississippi, 
it  would  have  been  considered  a  foolhardy  experiment  for  wooden  vessels  to 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  305 

attempt  to  pass  so  close  to  one  of  the  strongest  forts  on  the  coast ;  but 
when  to  the  forts  were  added  the  knowledge  of  the  strength  of  the  ram,  and 
the  supposed  deadly  character  of  the  torpedoes,  it  may  be  imagined  that  the 
coming  event  impressed  the  person  taking  his  first  glimpse  of  naval  warfare 
as  decidedly  hazardous  and  unpleasant.  So  daring  an  attempt  was  never 
made  in  any  country  but  this,  and  was  never  successfully  made  by  any  com- 
mander except  Farragut,  who  in  this,  as  in  his  previous  exploits  in  passing 
the  forts  of  the  Mississippi,  proved  himself  the  greatest  naval  commander 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  It  was  the  confidence  reposed  in  him,  the  recol- 
lection that  he  had  never  failed  in  any  of  his  attempts,  and  his  manifest 
faith  in  the  success  of  the  projected  movement,  that  inspired  all  around 
him." 

When  the  reconnoissance  was  completed,  the  admiral  called  a  council  of 
his  captains  in  the  ward-room  of  the  "  Hartford,"  and  announced  that  the 
attack  would  be  made  early  the  following  morning.  The  council  over,  each 
commander  returned  to  his  ship,  there  to  make  ready  for  the  dread  business 
of  the  morrow.  The  same  writer  whom  we  have  before  quoted  tells  how 
the  night  before  a  battle  is  spent  by  brave  men  not  afraid  of  death  :  — 

"At  sunset  the  last  order  had  been  issued.  Every  commanding  officer 
knew  his  duty,  and  unusual  quiet  prevailed  in  the  fleet.  The  waters  of  the 
Gulf  rested  for  a  time  from  their  customary  tumult,  a  gentle  breeze  relieved 
the  midsummer  heat,  and  the  evening  closed  upon  us  as  peacefully  as  if  we 
had  been  on  board  a  yachting  squadron  at  Newport.  During  the  early  part 
of  the  night,  the  stillness  was  almost  oppressive.  The  officers  of  the  '  Hart- 
ford' gathered  around  the  capacious  ward-room  table,  writing  what  they 
knew  might  be  their  last  letters  to  loved  ones  far  away,  or  giving  to  friends 
messages  and  instructions  in  case  of  death.  There  were  no  signs  of  fear; 
but,  like  brave  and  intelligent  men,  they  recognized  the  stern  possibilities 
of  the  morrow,  and  acted  accordingly. 

"  But  this  occupied  but  little  time ;  and  then,  business  over,  there  fol- 
lowed an  hour  of  unrestrained  jollity.  Many  an  old  story  was  retold,  and 
ancient  conundrum  repeated.  Old  officers  forgot  for  the  moment  their 
customary  dignity,  and  it  was  evident  that  all  were  exhilarated  and  stimu- 


306  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


lated  by  the  knowledge  of  the  coming  struggle.  Capt.  Heywood  of  the 
marines  proposed  a  final  'walk-around;'  Tyson  solemnly  requested  in- 
formation as  to  '  Which  would  you  rather  do  or  go  by  Fort  Morgan  ? ' 
and  all  agreed  they  would  prefer  to  'do.'  La  Rue  Adams  repeated  the 
benediction  with  which  the  French  instructor  at  the  naval  academy  was 
wont  to  greet  his  boys  as  they  were  going  into  examination  :  'Veil,  fellows, 
I  hope  ve  vill  do  as  veil  as  I  hope  ve  vill  do.'  Finally,  Chief  Engineer 
Williamson  suggested  an  adjournment  to  the  forecastle  for  a  last  smoke, 
and  the  smoking  club  went  forward ;  but  somehow  smoke  had  lost  its  cus- 
tomary flavor,  and,  after  a  few  whiffs,  all  hands  turned  in,  to  enjoy  what 
sleep  would  come." 

When  the  morning  dawned,  the  men  were  called  to  quarters,  and  the 
advance  upon  the  forts  was  begun  at  once.  It  was  a  foggy  morning,  and 
the  ships  looked  like  phantom  vessels  as  they  moved  forward  in  line  of 
battle,  with  the  "Brooklyn"  in  the  van.  Second  came  the  "Hartford," 
with  the  admiral  high  up  in  the  rigging,  where  he  could  overlook  the  whole 
scene. 

"  Nearly  every  man  had  his  watch  in  his  hand,  and  waited  for  the  first 
shot.  To  us,  ignorant  of  every  thing  going  on  above,  every  minute  seemed 
an  hour ;  and  there  was  a  feeling  of  great  relief  when  the  boom  of  the  first 
gun  was  heard.  This  was  from  the  monitor  '  Tecumseh,'  at  forty-seven 
minutes  past  six  o'clock.  Presently  one  or  two  of  our  forward  guns  opened, 
and  we  could  hear  the  distant  sound  of  the  guns  of  the  fort  in  reply.  Soon 
the  cannon-balls  began  to  crash  through  the  deck  above  us,  and  then  the 
thunder  of  our  whole  broadside  of  twelve  Dahlgren  guns  kept  the  vessel  in 
a  quiver.  But  as  yet  no  wounded  were  sent  down,  and  we  knew  we  were 
still  at  comparatively  long  range.  In  the  intense  excitement  of  the  occa- 
sion, it  seemed  that  hours  had  passed  ;  but  it  was  just  twenty  minutes  from 
the  time  we  went  below  when  an  officer  shouted  down  the  hatchway : 
'Send  up  an  army  signal-officer  immediately:  the  'Brooklyn'  is  signalling.' 
In  a  moment  the  writer  was  on  deck,  where  he  found  the  situation  as  fol- 
lows :  The  '  Brooklyn,'  directly  in  front  of  us,  had  stopped,  and  was  backing 
and  signalling  ;  the  tide  was  with  us,  setting  strongly  through  the  channel, 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF    '61.  307 


and  the  stopping  of  the  'Brooklyn'  threatened  to  bring  the  whole  fleet  into 
collision  and  confusion  ;  the  advance  vessels  of  the  line  were  trying  to  back 
to  prevent  a  catastrophe,  but  were  apparently  not  able  to  overcome  the  force 
of  the  current ;  and  there  was  danger  not  only  of  collision,  but  of  being 
drifted  on  shore." 

While  the  fleet  was  thus  embarrassed  and  hampered,  the  gunners  in  the 
forts  were  pouring  in  their  shot  thick  and  fast.  On  the  decks  of  the  ships 
the  most  terrible  scenes  of  death  were  visible.  Along  the  port  side  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  were  ranged  in  long  rows,  while  the  wounded  were  carried 
below,  until  the  surgeon's  room  was  filled  to  its  last  corner.  One  poor 
fellow  on  the  "  Hartford "  lost  both  legs  by  a  cannon-ball,  and,  falling, 
threw  up  both  arms  just  in  time  to  have  them  carried  away  also.  Strange 
to  say,  he  recovered  from  these  fearful  wounds. 

Just  as  the  fight  was  at  its  hottest,  and  the  vessels  were  nearing 
the  line,  the  passage  of  which  meant  victory,  there  went  up  a  cry  from  the 
whole  fleet,  "The  'Tecumseh!'  Look  at  the  'Tecumseh!''  All  eyes 
were  turned  on  the  monitor,  and  every  one  saw  that  she  was  sinking.  She 
staggered  for  a  moment,  and  went  down  with  a  rush,  carrying  her  brave 
commander  and  over  a  hundred  of  her  crew.  A  few  escaped,  the  last  of 
whom  was  the  pilot.  As  the  pilot  was  rushing  for  the  hatchway  that  led 
to  the  open  air  and  to  life,  he  met  at  the  foot  of  a  narrow  ladder  Commander 
Craven.  Craven  stepped  back,  saying  gravely,  "After  you,  pilot;"  and 
the  pilot  passed  out.  "  There  was  nothing  after  me,"  said  he,  in  relating  the 
story  afterwards ;  "  for  as  I  sprang  out  of  the  hatchway  the  water  rushed  in, 
carrying  all  behind  me  to  the  bottom." 

This  terrible  sight  made  the  ships  stop  for  a  moment  in  some  confusion  ; 
but  Farragut  signalled  sternly  from  his  flagship,  "Go  on,"  and  all  advanced 
again.  As  the  fight  grew  fiercer,  the  admiral  grew  tired  of  being  on  the 
second  ship  in  the  line,  and  ordered  the  "Hartford"  to  forge  ahead. 

"  On  board  a  war  steamer  the  engines  are  directed  by  the  tap  of  a  bell, 
the  wires  connected  with  which  lead  to  the  quarter-deck.  One  stroke  of 
the  bell  means  'go  ahead;'  two,  'stop;'  three,  'back;'  and  four,  'go  ahead 
as  fast  as  possible.'  Leaning  down  through  the  shrouds  to  the  officer  on 


308  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


deck  at  the  bell-pull,  the  admiral  shouted,  '  Four  bells,  eight  bells,  SIXTEEN 
BELLS  !  Give  her  all  the  steam  you've  got ! '  The  order  was  instantly  trans- 
mitted, and  the  old  ship  seemed  imbued  with  the  admiral's  spirit ;  and 
running  past  the  "  Brooklyn  "  and  the  monitors,  regardless  of  fort,  ram, 
gunboats,  and  the  unseen  foe  beneath,  dashed  ahead,  all  alone,  save  for  her 
gallant  consort,  the  "Metacomet.' ' 

But  by  this  time  the  fleet  was  well  abreast  of  the  forts,  and  now,  pouring 
out  broadside  after  broadside,  they  swept  along  past  the  terrible  ramparts. 
The  Confederate  gunboats  had  found  the  fight  too  hot  for  them,  and  had 
fled  for  shelter,  with  the  exception  of  the  dreaded  "  Tennessee,"  which 
seemed  to  be  holding  itself  in  reserve.  It  was  but  a  short  time  before  the 
vessels  were  safely  past  the  fort,  and  out  of  range,  floating  on  the  smooth 
waters  of  the  inner  bay.  Then  the  crews  were  piped  to  breakfast,  and  all 
hands  began  to  recount  their  narrow  escapes. 

But  the  end  was  not  yet,  for  the  ram  "  Tennessee  "  was  now  ready  to  try 
her  mettle  with  the  fleet.  Lieut.  Kinney  of  the  "  Hartford  "  tells  graphi- 
cally the  story  of  the  desperate  fight  that  the  ram  carried  on  alone  against 
the  whole  attacking  flotilla. 

"  We  were  just  beginning  to  feel  the  re-action  following  such  a  season 
of  extreme  peril  and  excitement,  when  we  were  brought  to  our  senses  by 
the  sharp,  penetrating  voice  of  executive  officer  Kimberly  calling  all  hands 
to  quarters ;  and  a  messenger-boy  hurried  down  to  us  with  the  word,  '  The 
ram  is  coming.'  Every  man  hastened  to  his  post,  the  writer  to  the  quarter- 
deck, where  the  admiral  and  fleet-captain  were  standing.  The  cause  of  the 
new  excitement  was  evident  at  once.  The  '  Tennessee,'  as  if  ashamed  of 
her  failure,  had  left  the  fort  and  was  making  at  full  speed  directly  for  the 
"  Hartford,"  being  then  perhaps  a  mile  and  a  half  distant.  The  spectacle 
was  a  grand  one,  and  was  viewed  by  the  Rebel  soldiers  in  both  forts,  who 
were  now  out  of  range  of  our  guns,  and  lined  the  walls.  Few  audiences 
have  ever  witnessed  so  imposing  a  sight.  The  great  ram  came  on  for  a 
single-handed  contest  with  the  fleet.  She  was  believed  to  be  invulnerable, 
and  had  powerful  double  engines  by  which  she  could  be  easily  handled ; 
while  our  monitors  were  so  slow-gaited  that  they  were  unable  to  offer  any 


FIGHT  AT  MOBILE  BAY. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  311 

serious  obstacle  to  her  approach.  Farragut  himself  seemed  to  place  his 
chief  dependence  on  his  wooden  vessels.  Doubtless  the  crowd  of  Con- 
federate soldiers  who  watched  the  fight  expected  to  see  the  '  Tennessee ' 
sink  the  Yankee  vessels  in  detail,  and  the  chances  seemed  in  its  favor.  .  . 

"  Meanwhile,  the  general  signal,  '  Attack  the  enemy/  had  gone  up  to  the 
peak  of  the  '  Hartford ; '  and  there  followed  a  general  slipping  of  cables, 
and  a  friendly  rivalry  to  see  which  could  quickest  meet  the  foe.  The 
'  Monongahela,'  with  her  artificial  iron  prow,  was  bravely  in  the  lead,  and 
struck  the  Rebel  craft  amidships  at  full  speed,  doing  no  damage  to  the  ram, 
but  having  her  own  iron  prow  destroyed,  and  being  otherwise  injured. 
Next  came  the  '  Lackawanna,'  with  a  like  result.  The  huge  iron  frame  of 
the  '  Tennessee '  scarcely  felt  the  shock,  while  the  wooden  bow  of  the 
Union  ship  was  badly  demoralized.  For  an  instant  the  two  vessels  swung 
head  and  stern  alongside  of  each  other.  In  his  official  report,  Capt. 
Marchand  naively  remarks  :  — 

" '  A  few  of  the  enemy  were  seen  through  their  ports,  who  were  using 
most  opprobrious  language.  Our  marines  opened  on  them  with  muskets  : 
even  a  spittoon  and  a  holystone  were  thrown  at  them  from  our  deck,  which 
drove  them  away.' 

"  The  '  Tennessee '  fired  two  shots  through  her  bow,  and  then  kept  on 
for  the  '  Hartford.'  The  two  flag-ships  approached  each  other,  bow  to  bow. 
The  two  admirals,  Farragut  and  Buchanan,  had  entered  our  navy  together 
as  boys,  and  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  had  been  warm  friends.  But 
now  each  was  hoping  for  the  overthrow  of  the  other ;  and,  had  Buchanan 
possessed  the  grit  of  Farragut,  it  is  probable  that  moment  would  have 
witnessed  the  destruction  of  both  vessels.  For  had  the  ram  struck  us 
square,  as  it  came,  bows  on,  it  would  have  ploughed  its  way  half  through  the 
'  Hartford ; '  and,  as  we  sank,  we  should  have  carried  it  to  the  bottom, 
unable  to  extricate  itself.  But  the  Rebel  admiral  was  not  desirous  of  so 
much  glory  ;  and,  just  as  the  two  vessels  were  meeting,  the  course  of  the 
'Tennessee'  was  slightly  changed,  enough  to  strike  us  only  a  glancing 
blow  on  the  port-bow,  which  left  us  uninjured,  while  the  two  vessels  grated 
past  each  other.  He  tried  to  sink  us  with  a  broadside  as  he  went  by ;  but 


312  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


only  one  of  his  guns  went  off,  the  primers  in  all  the  others  failing.  That 
gun  sent  a  shell  that  entered  the  berth-deck  of  the  'Hartford/  and  killed 
five  men." 

But  by  this  time  the  unequal  conflict  was  becoming  too  much  even  for 
a  man  of  Buchanan's  courage.  The  armor  of  the  ram  was  penetrated  in 
several  places,  and  at  last  came  a  shot  that  almost  fatally  wounded  her 
commander.  With  the  controlling  mind  that  guided  her  course  gone,  the 
ram  was  useless ;  and  in  a  moment  a  white  flag  fluttered  from  the  shattered 
stump  of  her  flagstaff.  And  so  closed  the  naval  battle  that  effectually 
ended  Confederate  rule  on  the  Gulf  coast,  and  earned  for  Farragut  his 
proudest  laurels. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


THE  FALL  OF  FORT  FISHER. —THE  NAVY  ENDS  ITS  WORK. 

N  noticing  the  work  of  the  blockading-fleet,  we  have  spoken  of  the 
fine  harbor  of  Wilmington,  and  the  powerful  works  that  defended 
its  entrance.  This  Confederate  stronghold  was  known  as  Fort 
Fisher,  and  had  been  for  a  long  time  a  cause  of  anxiety  and  worry 
to  the  Northern  authorities.  The  war  had  gone  past  Fort  Fisher.  To  the 
north  and  to  the  south  of  it,  the  country  was  under  the  sway  of  the  Federal 
authorities ;  but  there  in  North  Carolina  stood  the  formidable  bastions  over 
which  floated,  in  defiance  of  the  laws  of  the  Union,  the  stars  and  bars  of  the 
rapidly  dying  Confederacy.  With  its  connected  batteries,  Fort  Fisher 
mounted  seventy-five  guns,  and  was  stronger  than  the  celebrated  Malakoff 
at  Sebastopol. 

To  reduce  this  stronghold,  a  joint  naval  and  military  expedition  was 
fitted  out ;  and  Gen.  Butler  was  placed  in  command  of  the  land  forces,  while 
Admiral  Porter,  torn  from  his  beloved  Western  rivers,  was  given  command 
of  the  fleet.  Butler  introduced  a  novel  feature  at  the  very  opening  of  the 
siege.  He  procured  an  old  steamer,  and  had  her  packed  full  of  gunpowder. 
On  a  dark  night  this  craft  was  towed  close  to  the  walls  of  the  fort  and  set 
afire,  in  the  hopes  that  she  might,  in  blowing  up,  tear  the  works  to  pieces. 


314  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 


But  in  this  the  projectors  were  disappointed ;  for  the  explosion,  though  a 
terrific  one,  did  absolutely  no  harm  to  the  Confederate  works.  When  Porter 
finally  did  get  into  the  fort,  he  asked  a  soldier  what  he  thought  of  the 
attempt  to  blow  them  up.  "It  was  a  mighty  mean  trick,"  responded 
the  Southerner  satirically.  "  You  woke  us  all  up." 

After  this  fiasco  had  set  all  the  world  laughing,  Butler  retired  voluntarily, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Gen.  Terry  ;  and  on  Christmas  Eve  of  the  year  1864 
the  fleet  began  the  bombardment,  although  the  land  forces  were  not  yet 
prepared  for  the  assault.  It  was  the  grandest  armada  that  was  ever  arrayed 
against  any  fortress.  The  thunder  of  nearly  five  hundred  guns  rent  the  air 
on  that  Christmas  Eve,  when  carols  were  being  sung  in  Christian  churches 
throughout  the  world.  Tremendous  as  was  the  cannonade,  the  earthworks 
were  almost  a  match  for  it.  The  fort  was  not  a  mass  of  masonry  that  these 
enormous  guns  might  batter  down  and  crumble  into  rubbish,  but  a  huge 
bank  of  earth  in  which  the  shells  might  harmlessly  bury  themselves.  But 
five  hundred  cannon  are  more  than  a  match  for  any  fort,  and  so  they  soon 
proved  to  be  in  this  instance.  Earthworks,  guns,  and  men  alike  went  down 
before  them.  The  iron-clads  were  stationed  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  fort,  a  little  farther  out  were  the  frigates  and  heavy  sloops,  and 
still  beyond  were  the  smaller  vessels,  —  all  firing  to  cover  themselves  ;  and 
all  along  the  whole  extended  line  there  blazed  one  almost  continuous  sheet 
of  flame,  while  the  rolling  thunder  of  the  broadsides,  and  the  defiant  answer- 
ing roar  from  the  guns  of  the  forts,  shook  earth  and  sea.  Clouds  of  dust 
went  up  from  the  bastions  of  the  fort,  and  mingled  with  the  floating  smoke 
above.  Within  the  forts,  there  was  a  scene  of  the  most  terrible  confusion  : 
guns  were  overturned,  piles  of  cannon-balls  were  knocked  to  pieces  and 
scattered  about,  and  two  magazines  were  blown  up  and  scattered  fragments 
all  over  the  parade.  In  one  hour  and  a  quarter  all  the  gunners  were  driven 
to  the  bomb-proofs,  and  the  forts  were  silenced,  not  returning  a  single 
shot. 

On  Christmas  morning  Gen.  Terry  arrived  with  all  his  transports,  and 
the  attack  was  recommenced.  Early  in  the  morning  the  ships  fell  into 
position  and  began  a  slow  fire,  merely  to  cover  the  landing  of  the  troops. 


BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61.  317 


Again  the  garrison  was  driven  to  the  bomb-proofs ;  and,  indeed,  so  entirely 
were  they  chased  from  their  posts,  that  a  Federal  soldier  went  into  the 
fort  and  brought  off  a  Confederate  flag  without  ever  having  been  seen 
by  the  garrison.  All  the  troops  were  landed  ;  but  for  some  reason  the 
attack  was  deferred,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  officers  of  the  fleet,  who 
felt  sure  that  the  fort  could  be  taken  then  by  a  dash.  But  the  troops 
returned  to  their  transports  or  went  into  camp,  and  it  was  not  until  weeks 
after  that  the  assault  was  fairly  made.  In  the  mean  time,  the  ships  rode 
out  the  winter  gales  at  their  anchors,  doing  a  little  desultory  firing  to 
keep  the  garrison  in  a  state  of  unrest. 

On  the  I4th  of  January  the  heavy  bombardment  began  again,  and 
again  the  troops  were  landed.  By  night  it  was  seen  that  every  gun  on 
the  face  of  the  fort  was  disabled,  and  it  was  decided  to  storm  the  works 
the  next  day.  Sixteen  hundred  sailors  and  four  hundred  marines  were 
told  off  as  the  storming-party. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  ships  began  a  fierce  cannonade,  under  cover 
of  which  the  sailors  and  marines  landed,  and  threw  up  light  breastworks 
to  cover  them  until  the  time  should  be  ripe  for  the  charge.  The  arrange- 
ments contemplated  a  fierce  charge  by  the  blue-jackets,  armed  with  their 
cutlasses  and  revolvers  ;  while  the  marines,  remaining  in  the  rifle-pits,  should 
cover  the  advancing  party  with  a  hot  fire  of  musketry.  The  soldiers  from 
the  army-camp  were  to  charge  the  fort  on  the  other  side. 

At  three  o'clock  came  the  signal  that  all  was  ready.  The  whistles  of 
the  ships  rent  the  air ;  and  the  blue-jackets,  with  ringing  cheers,  dashed  in 
a  compact  body  up  the  beach.  But  in  an  instant  the  Confederate  ramparts 
were  black  with  men,  and  a  furious  fire  of  musketry  rained  down  upon 
the  sailors,  who  were  helpless.  The  marines  in  the  rifle-pits  failed  to  do 
what  was  expected  of  them,  and  the  sailors  halted  for  a  moment  in  surprise. 

As  they  stood,  a  most  destructive  fire  rained  down  upon  them  ;  and  the 
poor  fellows,  grasping  their  useless  cutlasses,  turned  and  fled  down  the 
beach,  leaving  great  heaps  of  dead  and  wounded  behind.  Then  the  Con- 
federates, thinking  the  day  was  theirs,  sprang  on  the  ramparts,  and  began 
a  vigorous  cheer  just  as  the  Union  soldiers  came  pouring  over  the  land- 


3l8  BLUE-JACKETS   OF   '61. 

ward  face  of  the  fort.  Then  ensued  a  fierce  hand-to-hand  fight  that  lasted 
for  hours.  The  blue-jackets,  encouraged,  rushed  back  to  the  fight,  and 
now  at  close  quarters  swung  their  cutlasses  with  deadly  effect,  until  step 
by  step  the  Confederates  were  driven  out  of  the  fort.  Then  the  fleet 
opened  upon  them,  and  they  fled  for  dear  life  while  a  sailor  sprang  to  the 
flagstaff  and  pulled  down  the  Confederate  flag.  Fort  Fisher  had  fallen. 
It  was  a  noble  victory,  and  formed  a  fitting  climax  to  the  work  of  the  navy 
throughout  that  great  war. 

With  the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher,  the  navy  ceased  to  be  a  prominent  factor 
in  the  war.  Its  work  was  done.  Along  the  seacoast,  and  inland  as  far 
as  navigable  rivers  extended,  the  ships  of  the  North  had  carried  the  starry 
banner;  and  the  sailor-boys  of  the  North  had  defended  it.  And  their 
opponents,  whether  on  sea  or  shore,  had  shown  themselves  courageous 
and  dashing,  and  worthy  to  be  numbered  as  men  of  the  same  nation  as 
those  who  proved  the  victors.  And  who  can  doubt,  that,  should  the  need 
arise,  the  sons  of  these  men  will  show  that  they  have  in  their  veins  the 
blood  that  animated  the  Blue-Jackets  of  '61  ? 


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